Opportunities Abound to Help Lemonters in Need

Lemont residents have not been immune to the fledgling economy.

A year ago, about 80 Township approved households were frequenting Lemont’s two local pantries, located at , 25 Custer St., and, 500 Lemont St., on a monthly basis. Today about 100 households are coming through the doors each month.

“It’s the highest it’s ever been,” said Terri O'Neill, founder of Hope and Friendship Ministries and director of community/human services for .

O’Neill said that according to results from the most recent census, about 3.5 percent of Lemont residents are living at or below poverty level.

To help keep the pantries stocked and raise funds for the Lemont Township Family Emergency Fund, next week township officials are hosting a " dodgeball tournament.

Lemont organizations, agencies and groups are invited to team up and compete in a round-robin dodgeball tournament beginning at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 15, at the Lemont Park District's , 16050 W 127th St. Entry to the tournament is a $5 donation to the Lemont Township Family Emergency Fund and/or a bag of food/personal care products for the Lemont Food Pantries.

This holiday season, several community groups, including the Boy Scout Troop 49 and parent-teacher organizations, have also hosted food drives to keep the shelves stocked.

Kathy Cliff, administrative assistant at Lemont United Methodist, lauds the support the pantries have received from village residents.

“We honestly don’t have to twist arms to get people to do this kind of stuff,” she said. “They call us up."

Beth Howell, food pantry organizer at Bethany Lutheran, said residents can also support the food pantry by donating gift certificates from local stores.

"We use those to help fill the shelves when they are running low, and also like to give them to our clients during the holiday season," she told Patch this fall. "We don't like to use money from our fresh food fund to stock our shelves with non-perishable items; we need to have the fund available for fresh food for our clients."

Lemont Township is also partnering with the Salvation Army this month to raise money for struggling Lemont families. Volunteers are needed to ring bells every weekend from now until Christmas Eve (Fridays from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon.).

Those interested can contact township officials at 630-257-2522.

This month, O'Neill is again collecting food and home care items for Hope and Friendship Ministries' annual "Christmas Dinner and Care Box Deliveries." The program provides struggling families with a home-cooked meal, as well as home cleaning products and personal care items.

There are several bins throughout the village where people can drop off donations: the Lemont Police Department, 14600 127th St.; Starbucks, 1251 State St.; US Bank, 1229 State St.; and the Lemont Township Office at 1115 Warner Ave., behind Chipain's.

Donations must be dropped off by Dec. 19. Boxes and dinners will be put together from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Christmas Day, and deliveries are made from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

“We try to make it easy so people can just drop food off,” O’Neill said. “It’s gone very well.”

O’Neill said some items are especially needed.

“When people see there’s a food drive a lot of times they’ll go into the pantry and grab stuff they have surpluses of,” she said. “So we get cases of string beans but we hardly ever have cake mixes and sugar because you use that. It’s never in the pantry just sitting there.”

Needed items include: boxed meals such as Hamburger Helper, canned spaghetti, canned meats, cake and brownie mixes, frosting, cans and jars of fruit, snack cups such as pudding and apple sauce, Pop Tarts, granola bars, microwave popcorn, tea bags, salad dressing, condiments, peanut butter, jelly, marshmallow fluff, jars of cheese, salsa and spreads, and Velveeta.

Other needs include laundry detergent, toilet paper, paper towels, paper plates, napkins, personal care items, and cleaning items.

For more information, e-mail terri-oneill@lemonttownship.org or call Lemont Township at 630-257-2522.