HUNTLEY – Pub 47 assistant manager Lacey McKenzie said she was looking for a way to give back during the holidays when she saw a flier from the Grafton Food Pantry. That’s when she helped come up with the idea to start a fundraiser.
“We then brainstormed a way to give back and help out the food pantry and started thinking about who could help us accomplish this fundraiser and who would be our supporters,” McKenzie said.
Pub 47 hosted its inaugural Huntley’s Holiday Without Hunger from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday. Throughout the day, hundreds of people came out to fill a bus parked in front of Pub 47, 10400 Route 47, with donated items for the local food pantry. Requested items included canned goods, personal grooming products, clothing, shoes, gas cards, gift cards and monetary donations.
Halfway through the event, the bus already was filled with hundreds of donated goods.
“We actually had people come here before we planned to open at 9 a.m.,” McKenzie said. “So it’s been a huge success.”
Donor Sunday Graham was just one of the many local residents throughout the day who came in to help out the cause.
“What better gift to give, especially this time of year, to help people who are in need,” Graham said. “The food pantry does such a great thing for the community that events like this are awesome to be able to help them out.”
Later in the evening, the Huntley Red Raiders Travel Baseball team also showed up to support the food pantry.
“Part of our mission is to help mold young men and teach them that there are others in need of help,” said Anthony Siriano, Huntley Red Raiders Travel Baseball president.
“Anytime that we can do something for our community, it’s good for us and our kids to be involved,” said Patrick Kelly, media director for the team.
Grafton Food Pantry is a nonprofit serving the areas of Huntley and Lakewood, and portions of Lake in the Hills, Crystal Lake and Algonquin. Harriet Ford, Grafton Food Pantry board member, said the pantry serves about 150 families a year.
“We’re just humbled by the efforts on our behalf,” Ford said. “This not only helps us reach out to new donors but also to potential new clients who may need our services and may not know we exist.”
In addition to the donations, Pub 47 also held a holiday tap takeover where holiday beers were available to buy on tap from Crystal Lake Brewing, One Trick Pony, Revolution and New Belgium Brewing. For the children, Santa came to visit Pub 47 from 5 to 7 p.m.
“The purpose of all these other events was to help draw more people to donate today,” McKenzie said. “We figured it would attract even more people.”
McKenzie said the event wouldn’t have been so successful without the help of other local organizations and community members who helped support the event, including the Huntley Community Radio, The Village of Huntley, Huntley Chamber of Commerce, Huntley Community School District 158 and J Miller Marketing, among others.
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