On
this past beautiful summer weekend I drove around town. There were
several organizations trying to do something to make a little money
for their club and I chatted with a few. One said they were doing
okay, another said they were disappointed in the amount of activity
they were getting to raise funds for their cause.
We ask all of you out there to allow us to help you. The LDN is
delighted to include your worthwhile activities in our community
calendar and you can do it yourself. Just click on the community
calendar link at the top of the front page and then click submit
entry. We recommend you send in your information a full month before
the event to ensure that everyone gets a chance to see it and note
it on their calendars. As an added bonus, Close Up will make a note
of it on this page about a week before it happens to make sure
everyone knows what you are doing. We do this as a free service. All
we need is for you to tell us what's happening with your
organization. We in turn will make sure everyone else knows.
The
Ultimate Recycling Project
Christian Child Care Inc., a Not-For-Profit center in Lincoln,
Illinois, recently held a garage/bake sale July 26th. They were
thrilled to have earned over $500.00 to help support the center. For
a few months they were afraid the center would close due to
financial burdens, but in three months time they are stronger than
ever and are building a sound financial future. But the story is not
in the money made; it is about all the people that made that event
success possible and how it is the ultimate recycling project. When
director Coleen Moore began planning for the garage sale,
collections slowly began to trickle in. Mrs. Moore attends Douglas
Avenue Methodist Church in Springfield and knew how successful their
sale is for the church each year. On a whim, she contacted their
garage sale committee at the church and asked for any leftover
items. The church generously gave three vanloads full of items to
resell.
The Rotary Club in Lincoln was also having a sale and when Mrs.
Moore contacted them, they were also delighted to help the center
with their leftover treasures.
Again, the Christian Child Care van was filled three more times.
In all they filled seven rooms of the center with books, housewares,
clothes, toys and knickknacks.
Now that the garage sale is over, Christian Child Care donated
all the children's clothes to The Kids Closet of Lincoln. This is a
mission that gives away clothes to children in need and is open the
first Monday of each month at 104 South Chicago Street in Lincoln.
Christian Child Care has also donated to the Good Samaritan
Ministries, 1200 North Postville Dr. in Lincoln. These recycled
items will be used in the office of their new facility.
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Christian Child Care is putting all the leftover items at
Freecycle.com. This is a group in Logan County and is part of a
worldwide organization. If someone has items they want to get rid of
but do not want it to go to waste, FREECYCLE™ offers a way to make a
difference and recycle right here in your own community. All items
are given away and everything is free. Currently there are 325
members in Logan County and they have a posting board on Yahoo with
requested items or items to give away.
Coleen Moore, Director of the Christian Child Care
Center, stated," This was so much more than a garage sale; this was
the ultimate recycling project. So many organizations and people
have benefited from this one-day event. Christian Child Care desires
to make this an annual tradition, and looks forward to helping
others along the way again."
Register
for Leadership Academy
The 2008 Logan County Leadership Academy is taking
registration until August 22. Leadership Academy provides
participants with the knowledge, vision and connections to become
successful civic and business leaders. Please consider this
opportunity for yourself or your employees; it is a commitment that
will not only benefit you, and your business, this commitment also
benefits our community. Contact Andi Hake at the Lincoln/ Logan
County Chamber of Commerce 735.2385.
Hot
air before you know it
Art and Balloon Festival wrist bands are on sale
NOW. $4.00 for the entire weekend with advance purchase, or $5.00 at
the gate. Children 12 and under are only $1.00. You can get your
Festival wrist bands at the information station from 9:00 a.m. to
5:00 p.m. Mondays - Fridays. The information station is located at
1555 5th Street in Lincoln.
Great
new Railer website
If you haven't checked out the new Lincoln Community
High School Railer's website you should. The new design is great,
shows all the calendars for all Railer sports and lets you know what
is happening every day of the week all year long. The site can be
accessed on the right-hand side of our local sports page, but as
always Close Up will give you a helping hand, so just
click here.
Got a good piece of news, information or
something that we can all brag about? If you do, e-mail Mike and let
us tell everyone about it. Plus you can win cash. Every submission,
whether we use it or not, will get your name in the "Close Up" grab
bag. At the end of the month we will draw a name and someone will
get $25.00 just for dropping us an e-mail. If you wish, we will be
happy to donate your winnings to the organization of your choice.
You can contact Mike at
mikefak@lincolndailynews.com.
[By MIKE FAK]
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