Food Bank Information

A local resident Jennifer Puzzo asked me a great question, about the location of food banks in the area. As many of you know I have been active with the Northern Illinois Food Bank. The Avon Food Pantry collects donations of non-perishable food items year-round. Please help make the upcoming holidays a little bit nicer for Avon Township families by dropping off your donations to the Village Hall or directly to Avon Township at 433 E. Washington Street (847-546-1446).

Here is a list of food banks in Northern Illinois for your benefit.

Community Volunteers-- Wonderful Project

I got an email from a Round Lake Resident Kristin Albrecht a few days ago about a project she and her husband do in the community and I was very impressed by the thoughtfullness and dedication that went into what they do. What follows is the text of her email.

I saw your post about the Avon Township Food Pantry. I was wondering if you would be able and/or willing to help further by highlighting a little project my husband and I started in 2001 to anonymously adopt needy families. Our story is this . . .

“Following the 9/11 attacks and other personal tragedies that year, my husband and I decided to begin a new tradition of giving at the holiday season. Instead of giving insignificant gifts to our adult friends and relatives, we decided to use the money we would have spent on those gifts and give instead to children of less-fortunate families. Our first family adopted in 2001, consisted of two young children, ages 9 and 5, who were living with their maternal grandparents. The children’s parents had been lost to the war on Iraq and Afghanistan following the 9/11 attacks. They had come to live with their grandparents in the suburbs of Chicago following their parent’s deployment to the war. Our gifts to the children consisted of clothes, toys, and school supplies. Our gifts to the grandparents consisted of gift certificates to local grocery stores, clothes, and a gift certificate for an evening out including a babysitter for the children.

That was our first real year of experiencing the joy of giving. Since then, our tradition of anonymous giving has grown to include seven other families who take pleasure in the gift of giving. The 2005 holiday season saw our little group of eight anonymous families adopting three families from the area who were less fortunate. In today’s world, it is easy to lose sight of the true meaning behind the holiday season. Rather than asking for more, imagine the world if more people began to appreciate what they already have, and give back to those in need. Imagine a world where more people looked outside their own little world to help those less fortunate. Image a world of peace, understanding, and tolerance.”

Anyway, that’s our story . . .
We adopt families from the Avon Township Food Pantry. As you know, the families are already screened and determined to be underprivileged. We remain anonymous but try to do more than just a few gifts for the children. We try to make sure the entire family is supplied with food, clothes, and other necessities for the holiday season.

My husband and I cannot afford to do it all on our own so after our first experience in 2001 we began recruiting friends to join us. We now have 8 families (including ourselves) who participate in our “Adopt-A-Family” annual project. We are expanding this year to try to recruit outside our small circle of friends in order to provide to more families.

We are looking for participants who can help us . . .

• Raise donations for food, clothes, or other necessities for our adoptive families.
• Donate food, clothes or other necessities.
• Make pick-ups from area businesses who have committed to donating to our little project.

We are looking for participants who are interested in experiencing the joy of giving to those less fortunate.

Let me know if you would like more information or to talk on this further. Kristin can be contacted here!

Food Pantry Needs Your Help!

NOTE: This is an email that I got from Christine Brooks about the Avon Township Food Pantry. As you may or may not know I am active with a variety of organizations including the Meals on Wheels Organization and the Northern Illinois Food Bank where I have done a few things for them like National Hunger Awareness Day and Potluck Desert with the Mayor.

Good Morning, my name is Christine Brooks and I am one of the Trustees of Avon Township. I was wondering if you might be interested in doing a Blog for the Food Pantry. The number of residents utilizing the food pantry has steadily increased in the last several months but the staff and budget has remained the same. Donations of monetary as well as food along with volunteers is GREATLY needed! The food pantry utilizes the Northern Illinois Food Bank for a large portion of its food and they keep some impressive statistics. One of the statistics most interesting is that out of the 98 food pantries the Northern Illinois Food Bank services, Avon Township Food Pantry is ranked number 7. This ranking is based upon the number of pounds of food the Northern Illinois Food Bank delivers to their agencies. I believe that number speaks volumes and shows that this community has a great need to supply people who are in need with food. Please, if you have any questions or would like to learn more feel free to call Maureen @ 847-546-1066.

The Avon Township food pantry is located at 423 E. Washington St. Round Lake Park, IL 60073. Please help as much as you can!

Is Illinois the Gerrymander State?

One of the most fascinating things about the state of Illinois is the sheer volume of taxing bodies there are. This village has an unreal amount of taxing bodies that fall inside our boundaries. I am going to list them, and I am sure I will miss some, in fact I can guarantee I will. The picture is appropriate sometimes when you deal with the number of taxing bodies in the area.

School Districts (8)

• Round Lake District 116
• Grayslake High School 127
• Community School District 46
• Fremont School District
• Mundelien High School District
• Grant High School
• Big Hollow School District
• Gavin School District

Park Districts (1)

• Round Lake Area Park District

Library Districts (2)

• Round Lake Area Library District
• Grayslake Library District

Fire Departments (3)

• Round Lake Fire Protection District
• Grayslake Fire Protection District
• Fox Lake Fire Protection District

Townships (3)

• Avon
• Grant
• Fremont

Sanitary Sewer (2)

• Lakes Region Sanitary Sewer
• Round Lake Sanitary Sewer

Countywide organizations (4)

• College of Lake County
• Lake County
• Stormwater Management
• JAWA-- Joint Area Water Agency

We are also served by 1 Congressman, 1 State Senator, 1 State Representative, 4 County Board Representatives.

Meet the Candidates Event – Lake Villa, Grant, Antioch, and Avon Townships

There will be a meet the candidates sponsored by the Lake Villa, Grant, Antioch, and Avon Township Democrats today. The event will start at 3:00 with opening comments by Township Chairs. Candidates have maximum 15 minutes to speak and answer questions. The program will end around 5:00.
Some of the candidates represented will be the candidates for State Treasurer, State Senate, State Rep, Congresswoman Bean County Sheriff, County Clerk, and County Treasurer. For information on the Lake County Democratic Party go here.
When: 3:00 --– 5:00 p.m.
Where: Lake Villa Township Hall ("Caboose Park"”) Community Room B
(S.W. corner of Grand Ave. and Fairfield Rd., Lake Villa --– Entrance off of Fairfield)

Help Avon Township Adopt a Platoon!

There are so many things going on the in community that sometimes wonderful programs get missed. Molli Larson the Clerk of Avon Township, and a Round Lake resident, was telling me about a program that assists platoons stationed in Iraq I thought this was an excellent idea! Molli sent me some information on what the platoon needs and then some contact information if you are interested in donating. Please do!

There are 24 soldiers in the Avon Township sponsored platoon, all males, and they are deployed from Ft.Carson, Co. to Iraq until approximately Dec. '06. This is an infantry platoon and they are doing some very hazardous missions. They would appreciate lots of letters, snacks, AA Batteries (Lithium), Whole bean coffee (they have a grinder), magazines, wipes, beef jerky, in addition to any and all the other things listed on the website. Go to www.adoptaplatoon.org then to the toolbar on the left and click on Care Package Ideas, or you may pick up a copy at the Avon Township Office.

Also, we are collecting household and clothing items for the Afghani people that another Platoon is doing outreach work with. Gently used clothing, shoes, blankets, needles, thread, fabric, pretty much anything you can think of that's not too bulky and would be fairly easy to ship.

Hours - Monday - Thursday 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Avon Township Center 433 E Washington St Round Lake Park, IL

For more info or to arrange a special drop off time call 847-546-1446.

Candidate Forum Today at the Community Center

All seven candidates seeking the GOP nomination for Congress in the 8th District are expected to take part in a forum Saturday afternoon at the Round Lake Park District Community Center.

The forum is open to the public and is sponsored by four northwest Lake County Republican organizations in Grant, Lake Villa, Avon and Antioch townships. In addition to the congressional hopefuls, contenders for Illinois governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, the state Senate and House, and judicial candidates also are expected at the forum.

The program is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. and continue until about 4 p.m. in the Community Center's Senior Center at 814 Hart Road in Round Lake.

How many Taxing Bodies the Village Can, and Does Deal With!

One of the most fascinating things about the state of Illinois is the sheer volume of taxing bodies there are. This village has an unreal amount of taxing bodies that fall inside our boundaries. I am going to list them, and I am sure I will miss some, in fact I can guarantee I will. The picture is appropriate sometimes when you deal with the number of taxing bodies in the area.

School Districts (8)

• Round Lake District 116
• Grayslake High School 127
• Community School District 46
• Fremont School District
• Mundelien High School District
• Grant High School
• Big Hollow School District
• Gavin School District

Park Districts (1)

• Round Lake Area Park District

Library Districts (2)

• Round Lake Area Library District
• Grayslake Library District

Fire Departments (3)

• Round Lake Fire Protection District
• Grayslake Fire Protection District
• Fox Lake Fire Protection District

Townships (3)

• Avon
• Grant
• Fremont

Sanitary Sewer (2)

• Lakes Region Sanitary Sewer
• Round Lake Sanitary Sewer

Countywide organizations (4)

• College of Lake County
• Lake County
• Stormwater Management
• JAWA-- Joint Area Water Agency

We are also served by 1 Congressman, 1 State Senator, 1 State Representative, 4 County Board Representatives, I will blog a little bit more about them in the future.

Potluck Dessert with the Mayor

Yesterday I attended the "One Big Table Potluck Lunch" at Trinity International University. About 60 people attended including State Senators Link and Garrett along with Representative May. The various speakers talked about how to effect change and I realized that the change needs to be affected by people like you and me.

As I sat there I was stuck by my ability to make a difference a change. So the First lady and I are going to participate and host a "One Big Table Potluck To End Hunger" at our house on July 30th at my house from 5pm to 8pm. The theme will be desserts! The donations will go to the Northern Illinois Food Bank with a focus on the pantries in Grant Township and Avon Township.

Help End Hunger One Potluck at a Time!

Welcome to the America'’s Second Harvest —The Nation'’s Food Bank Network One Big Table Potluck Website. One Big Table Potluck is a national movement designed to find the best amateur cooks around the country while raising awareness and funds for hungry Americans.

Between April 20 and September 15, 2005, thousands of One Big Table Potlucks will take place around the country. Any individual or organization can host a One Big Table Potluck at home, church, work, school or other location by inviting friends or family, colleagues and others to attend your potluck, submit a recipe and raise money for hunger-relief.

Each potluck host will identify a “winning recipe that will be submitted to a national recipe contest. Top national winners from each recipe category —heirloom, regional, personal best, and stone soup —may be featured in a cookbook written by Molly O'’Neill, former food columnist for the New York Times, that is scheduled to be published in 2007.

See this space for more details! My goal is to see if we can raise $10,000 for hunger in America.