Concert Ticket Prices Per Car $50.00 USDWalk In Per Person $25.00 USDBike In Per Person $25.00 USD
Passion for the Pantry
Thanks to you, our volunteers and donors, we will reach our Capital Campaign goal to renovate our new home. Our future home at 55 N. Park will allow the Pantry’s mission to assist even more people experiencing hunger on a personal and daily level.
Celebration of Tables
The Glen Ellyn Newcomers Club produced a fun and festive day of delights at Celebration of Tables on March 7. The event featured over two dozen creatively styled tables.
Marcia Lamoureux … Someone You Should Know
Marcia Lamoureux … Someone You Should Know
I Recently visited with Marcia Lamoureux, Glen Ellyn’s resident Birdhouse Architect/Builder and generous benefactor of a number of Charitable organizations, including our Glen Ellyn Food Pantry. She is a true artist and to say that her enthusiasm is infectious, would be an understatement. We met at her home on Hillside Dr, in Glen Ellyn; a house that she and her husband rescued from demolition and lovingly restored to its original splendor.
Marcia had already restored 3 other historic homes, prior to tackling the house on Hillside; doing most of the work herself. She replaced damaged flooring, installed inlaid flooring, replaced and restored millwork & cabinetry; the list goes on. Her father was a teacher who built homes part-time with her uncle, a full-time builder. Marcia soaked up their passion for building structures, with fine materials and fine workmanship.
The first birdhouse was inspired by a fancy gardening magazine that she read one day, while working on her own gardens. She put her artistic talents and building experience to work and built a beautiful birdhouse that she installed high above her flower beds. One thing led to another and her avocation was born. Marcia soon found herself designing and building birdhouses as donations to charitable organizations for silent auctions. She became disillusioned when she saw how little her birdhouses and every other auction item netted the charities. The people bidding on the auction items were paying as little as possible for the items; not an amount that recognized the time, love and effort that actually went into the creation of each item.
She decided to take a different tack and sell the birdhouses to the public, donating 100% of the purchase price to charity. She believes that if people know that they are buying a quality product that is locally made by hand…..not mass produced …and that 100% of the purchase price would benefit a local charity, they would readily make the purchase and feel good that they were at once, supporting their community.
You see, Marcia has a vision that extends beyond building birdhouses. She is on a mission to make a difference; to make people re-think some of our social issues. In her vision, charitable support within a community, buying locally fabricated merchandise, preserving our environment, creating jobs for the disabled that they enjoy, and the sustainability of each are all finely interwoven. If a business has a commitment to these, she believes that it will trickle up.
To that end, Marcia has partnered with a school for autistic children. She is teaching them how to assemble her birdhouses; finding each student a task that they can readily complete, and that gives them joy and satisfaction. The idea is to teach them skills that will allow them to earn money doing something that they love. She scours the Good Will shops, looking for pieces that she can repurpose to add a distinctive character to each birdhouse. She is currently contemplating opening a shop from which she can sell her birdhouses, and other handmade items, and envisions staffing it with volunteers from the charities that benefit from the sales of the items. Marcia has big plans and is open to collaborating with others who share her desire for change.
Come by the Glen Ellyn Food Pantry on Saturday, July 20th or Sunday July 21st, from 10am -4pm, each day. Purchase one of her “works from the heart” and support the Food Pantry in their mission ……Oh, and meet Marcia!!
Meatheads
Did you get your BURGER on?? Thank you to Meatheads of GE for supporting the GEFP on March 22nd, 2018 with 20% of their profits coming back to the Food Pantry to help us in turn feed our hungry neighbors in need. Meatheads is also continuing to collect NON perishable items in their store thru the end of the March. THANK YOU MEATHEADS!!
GEFP Expanding & Enhancing Efficiency
In 2015, GEFP distributed $2.6 million in food to over 29,000 people, and we have literally out grown our space at Grace Lutheran Church. To accommodate this enormous growth, we have planned and budgeted for a modest expansion and reorganization of our current space. The new configuration will provide more client appointments to meet the growing need.
Although we have some committed funds for these changes, additional unexpected challenges are facing us. Pantry updates are needed to increase space and comply with village ordinances, new computers are critical to accommodating necessary software updates, and increasing operating costs are driven by a 14% increase in client services thus far in 2016. We are working hard to meet these challenges, but we need your help.
Please consider making a donation to help us meet these needs. While we continue to partner with the Northern Illinois Food Bank and local retailers in our community to squeeze as much value out of every dollar given, the demand for food assistance continues to grow. Your tax deductible gift will make a positive impact on local families in need.
The Glen Ellyn Food Pantry expansion is scheduled to be completed by August 1, 2016, and we would love for you to see our changes in person during our normal operating hours. You can see your contributions at work, serving your community.
Thank you for your commitment to this valuable community resource. Your gift truly makes a difference in the lives of many
Family Fitness Fun Walk
Come join our high school GEIW Junior Volunteers for a morning on fun and fitness at Glenbard West High School on April 17, 2016. This group of high school students plans and organizes this event that raises money and awareness for our 22 deserving agencies. Click here for tickets.
GEFP Needs Your Year End Support
Glen Ellyn Food Pantry has seen tremendous growth is the demand for food assistance over the past three years: *** Actual 2013 Actual 2014 Actual 2015 Pounds Distributed 450,000 825,000 900,000 $$ value Distributed $1,110,778 $2,272,000 2,600,000 # Clients Served 17,500 22,000 29,000 A significant game changer for us has been the ability to recover food […]
St. Mark’s Boy Scouts Troup 44 Supports Glen Ellyn Food Pantry Thanksgiving Appeal
St. Mark’s Boy Scouts Troup 44 helps with the Glen Ellyn Food Pantry Thanksgiving Appeal Turkey Drive at Jewel on Roosevelt to raise money for over 550 families for a Turkey Dinner on Thanksgiving. The Scouts were able to connect with the customers of Jewel and raise approximately $1,040.00 for the food drive over the weekend of October 12th. St Mark’s Scouts and Leaders who gave up their time for the needy were David Felsenthal, Debora Felsenthal, Ian Marshall, Kathy Marshall, Rob Marshall, Simon Mstowski , Mitch Mstowski, Nolan Burke, Sam Nelson, Aileen Burke, Kathy Nelson, Nathan Blaim, Dody Hospes, Will Robinson and Ruth Hospes.
Thanksgiving Meal Appeal
Glen Ellyn Food Pantry needs your help to distribute 550 Thanksgiving Food Boxes to our hungry neighbors this year. Your tax-deductible donation of $50 will provide a 12-14 pound turkey, a box of non-perishable food and perishable food items (milk, cheese, yogurt, eggs) for a local family in need. Any contribution is welcome. Without our generous donors, we would not be able to feed those in need. We thank you for your support! Please make checks payable to Glen Ellyn Food Pantry, and mail to 493 Forest Ave. Glen Ellyn, IL 60137.