![]() |
Press Releases
From the Elmhurst Doings –
November 6, 2008 Elmhurst
residents launch an assault against hunger Mindy
Krissinger – Around the Elms I
am hungry. I hunger for change and am excited that with the recent
election behind us, change may eventually occur in our country. I hunger
for knowledge, and I find myself constantly seeking out answers to
various questions that the voices in my head throw my way throughout the
day. And I hunger for happiness and peace for others. But
for many, attaining happiness involves conquering the kind of hunger
that is literal, visceral and very, very real. I
have always admired people who take their desire for change and make it
reality. Two Elmhurst residents, Jim and Nancy Ruprecht, are doing just
that by running a private foundation focused on meeting the needs of
children. And this weekend, from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday at Francesca's Amici,
they will announce a $300,000 Challenge Grant, through their foundation,
to support the Northern Illinois Food Bank The
Ruprechts will announce the foundation's challenge to others to step up
and provide help for NIFB, the second largest food bank in Illinois.
This grant will match donations made by Elmhurst residents, businesses
and community organizations over the next three years. "Hunger
is a major issue in northern Illinois and will only get worse. As the
economic pressures grow, with prices for food and fuel continuing at
near record levels, this problem is not going away soon, if ever,"
stated Jim Ruprecht, president of Thing 1-2-3 Foundation and NIFB. "Nancy
and I recognize that Northern Illinois Food Bank has become one of
Illinois' most effective resources against hunger in the past 25 years.
We want to make a difference helping the food bank as it now faces a
huge challenge." NIFB
has run out of space to handle the food needed to serve the thousands of
clients it helps each week. It will distribute 25 million pounds of food
this year and will have trouble meeting this demand. Freezer and
refrigeration space is limited, and they do not have a warehouse that
accommodates the volume of food required to meet this need. Additionally,
with demand for food projected to grow to more than 40 million pounds in
the next eight to 10 years, it will become impossible to feed all the
hungry people in our communities. "Thing
1-2-3 Foundation's Challenge Grant will go towards helping the Food Bank
raise funds to build a new Community Nutrition and Food Distribution
facility," according to a foundation press release. NIFB,
a member of Feeding America, acquires donated food from retailers,
manufacturers, corporations and community resources and distributes it
through more than 520 food pantries, shelters, soup kitchens and other
nonprofit food assistance sites. It
helps nearly 300,000 people living in poverty in 13 northern Illinois
counties outside of Cook. "Not
only has the demand for food (in Illinois) grown, but with programs
including Youth Nutrition, Backpack and Summer Lunch programs, the
breadth of people (NIFB) serves has grown," explained Ruprecht. Thing
1-2-3 Foundation was founded in 1999 and inspired by "The Cat In
the Hat," by Dr. Seuss. According to the foundation's Web site,
their children quickly identified with the Cat's two helpers, Thing 1
and Thing 2. So when they started the foundation, which is focused on
helping children, the name was a natural way to reflect their love for
their children and a desire to help. Since
its formation in 1999, past grant recipients from the foundation have
included the 3 Fires Council Champions Program (scouting program for
local boys with special needs), Relay for Life of Elmhurst, Stay Focused
(empowerment program for local mobility-challenged teens), District 205
Foundation and Children's Memorial Hospital. For
more information on Thing 1-2-3 Foundation, please call (630) 531-5077
or visit www.thing123.org.
For
a pledge form to assist the NIFB and qualify for the foundation match,
go to the foundation's Web site under the Elmhurst Challenge heading.
You may also donate online. For
more information on NIFB, visit www.northernilfoodbank.org
or call (630) 443-6910.
|