Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Patch and other volunteers helped sort mountains of food Monday at the New Lenox Township office. New Lenox scouts collected about 42,000 food items to donate to the three local food pantries.
Every year in New Lenox, the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts execute an incredible effort to help feed local families. On Monday, I got to see the result of their work in action. I got to volunteer at the New Lenox Township food pantry along with many others to check for expired food, sort certain types of food and move boxes around. There were 60 volunteers who signed up to help sort the food—and there was A LOT of food. According to food drive director Bill Thomson, the scouts collected about 42,000 food items this year. That's slightly down from last year's record haul of about 48,000 items, but still an incredible amount that will help feed many people in the community. Especially when you see it stacked in boxes floor to ceiling, and …
Monday, December 26, 2011
With Bill Thomson's leadership, the New Lenox Scouts food drive has grown each year, providing a great service to the community and educational experience for local children. He was voted by Patch readers as 2011's person of the year.
Like many good leaders often do, Bill Thomson credits the people around him for his success. The organizer of the annual Boy and Girl Scouts food drive in New Lenox has led an effort to increase collections each year, with the Scouts hauling in nearly 50,000 items in 2011. Thomson was voted the 2011 Person of the Year by Patch readers. Thomson moved to New Lenox seven years ago with his wife and two sons. His kids joined the Scouts, and Thomson volunteered to help where he could. "I thought it’d be a good program for my kids and good opportunity to spend good, quality time with them," Thomson said. "It's a good program for teaching community service and character building." When Thomson took over the food drive, he remembers about 50 kids …
Monday, December 12, 2011
Kathie Johnson's husband died unexpectedly in 1995, and she relied on the help of others to dig her out of a hole. Now she's paying it forward and helping those in need by committing to a life of volunteerism.
Sixteen years ago, Kathie Johnson faced her "darkest days." Her husband died unexpectedly and she was left to raise two children while facing severe financial hardship. She turned to others for help and decided then that she would pay it forward when she got back on her feet. Now she's the family services manager for New Lenox Township, running a food pantry and offering others the support she desperately relied on years ago. "I depended on the generosity of others for a very long time," she said. "That's when I really started to volunteer. It's the best medicine you can give yourself when you’re feeling depressed." Johnson, now 56, said her husband died after heart problems went undetected. She was left without much money to raise 17-year…
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Income and other data will be tracked, but no one will be turned away from getting food. Instead, the pantry could be able to provide specific information needed when applying for grants.
Beginning at the end of January 2012, the New Lenox Township food pantry will ask users to provide a bit more information than just their address. Family Services manager Kathie Johnson stresses that this is not an application to receive food, but said it's more like an intake form. "It’s not going to keep anyone from getting food here, but we’ll be able to use that info to define the need for the community better," she said. The pantry will continue asking for the name and address of food recipients, but will also ask for general information like their income, the number of people living in the home and their ages, if they're receiving food assistance elsewhere and any other problems the family might be facing. Johnson started researching…
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
The annual New Lenox Scouts food drive collected nearly 47,000 items of food to be distributed to the three local food pantries.
The New Lenox Township food pantry was overflowing with donated items Monday, as well as volunteers helping store it away for needy families. Local Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts collected a record 46,954 food items this year, director Bill Thomson said. That about 3,000 more items than last year. The food will be split evenly among the three local food pantries: Scouts delivered about 9,000 grocery bags to New Lenox homes and collected ones filled with donated food Nov. 13. Kathy Johnson, the family services director at the New Lenox Township, said this haul could last the township for an entire year, at least on some items. "That frees up money that's donated to go toward other food items that go quicker," she said. There was so much food …
Saturday, November 12, 2011
The New Lenox Scouts will be delivering grocery bags to homes this week and collecting them Nov. 13. The goal is to raise 50,000 food items.
Local scouts will deliver brown bags to New Lenox homes starting this week, marking the start to their massive annual food drive, which continues to grow. Residents are asked to fill the grocery bags with food items that will be donated to the village's three food pantries. Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts all participate and will collect the grocery bags Nov. 13. Director Bill Thomson talked about how proud he was of the growth of the event over the last couple years. He spoke at a Village Board meeting last year when the scouts were honored for their work. "Last year I was talking about how proud we were and I think we had 15 kids here," Thomson said. "You can see how the program has grown." In 2010, the scouts put bags on 6,750 …
Kristie Camfield
9:14 pm on Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Very proud of our scouts!!!! more ›