Spring For Good Civic Dinner Honors Donors & Volunteers for Service Throughout the Year
On Friday, April 12th, The Salvation Army Tri-City Corps hosted a dinner to honor dedicated volunteers and donors for their gift of resources – time, skill and money which allows the Corps to provide much-needed services to residents of Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles and Central Kane County.
Captain Betsy Clark provided opening remarks where she thanked the packed room of attendees for their continued support and prayed over the food.
After a delightful dinner catered by Colonial Café, Advisory Board Chair, Henry ‘Doc’ Lange spoke about the impact that volunteers make throughout the year – by serving in the food pantry, fresh food distribution, kettle campaign, client-choice toy shop, and much more.
Last year, 2,159 volunteers donated a total of 12,447 hours of their time to allow The Tri-City Corps to provide 162,459 instances of assistance to those in need. Additionally, 35,785 bags of grocery items were distributed last year thru the client-choice food pantry, a program largely run by volunteers, open Monday thru Friday for those facing food insecurity.
Lange presented awards for those who went above and beyond in bell ringing - for total hours rung, total funds raised, etc. Awards were given to The Tri-City Exchange Club, Baker Memorial Church, St. Charles Noon Kiwanis, Geneva Kiwanis, Allen Geiger, and Helena Corda.
The Volunteer of the Year Award for 2018 was presented to Marian West, the Corps’ very own “Gal Friday”. Having joined during the “parking lot saga”, her tireless dedication to the mission is a lesson for all about what it is to have a “golden heart”. Marian always treats others with respect and kindness and is the first to “spring for good”. Some of the many efforts that Marian has been involved in include: the client choice toy shop setup, sponsorship request phone calls, volunteer meal coordination, gratitude drawing & silent auction basket arrangement, and many of those who were in attendance at the dinner were a result of Marian’s calls.
Leora Conway-Moreno, Community Awareness & Events Director, introduced keynote speaker Nathan Kinzinger, focusing on his upbringing and involvement in the Chicago business and philanthropic community.
Kinzinger fondly recalled working for a homeless shelter to pay his way thru college. In that same town, The Salvation Army took care of feeding, clothing and caring for those who were struggling with mental illness and drug addiction which left a lasting impression on him. He challenged the room to have a purpose so great that it can never be achieved, and yet so personally profound and noble that you'll spend your life pursuing it. "On earth, God built us to be a community of one, it's where we come alive," he added. Kinzinger shared how “character, life, organizations, they are built with small actions daily over a long period of time – then you have roots, then you have something successful.” He wrapped up with, “you have a rich history here, you are a powerful people and God built you to win … when you go home tonight I want you to look at your time, I want you to look at your money and I want you to figure out how you can ritualize it in a way that God pours his blessing thru you onto this organization.”
The event drew to a close with the announcement of the gratitude drawing and silent auction winners as well as a benediction given by Captain Betsy Clark. Thanks to generous corporate sponsors and individual donors, the event raised over $5,000 for Salvation Army programming.
Thank You to Our Sponsors!
To learn more about how you can volunteer at The Tri-City Corps or partake in upcoming events such as The Donut Day Eating Contest or The Fox Valley River Ride, please click on the respective links.