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 As you traverse the community, don't forget to make the
jaunt to Elkhart to the annual Elkhart Needs and Goals plant sale
going on until 10 a.m. Saturday.
According to Lois Olson, who chairs the group, the annual spring
plant sale is one of their more successful fundraisers
each year.
"Marlene Lanterman is in charge of the plant sale and does a
wonderful, wonderful job," Olson said.
Lanterman said all the plants they bring to the sale come from a
wholesaler in Nokomis. "We go down every year and choose the plants
we'll be buying, and then he delivers them to us free of charge,"
Lanterman said.
She also noted the two-day sale generally brings in about $1,000
after expenses.
The Needs and Goals organization was founded by Susan Green of
Elkhart. Green, a descendant of John D. Gillette, was born in Elkhart
but left the area for a time, marrying and raising her family in
Mexico, Mo. After returning home, she saw that there were needs
in the community that needed to be addressed, and she set about to
do just that.
She formed the NAG group in 1985 with a dozen or so friends and
neighbors interested in making a difference in the Elkhart
community.
Over the years the group has served as a source of financial support
for those in need in the community.
They implemented funding for lifelines for several of the senior
community members who would not have otherwise been able to afford
them, and they have done a great deal to support the public library
in Elkhart.
The Lemira Parke Gillett Memorial Library is a free public facility
that works to provide a number of services to the community.
The Needs and Goals group uses a portion of the money they earn each year through various
fundraisers to assist the library. In a past year they raised a
large sum of money and refurbished all of the old fixtures, chairs
and tables in the library.
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They also donate funds each year to the
children's summer reading programs at the library. This year they are
hoping to have money to do some landscaping work around the library
building.
In addition, they are in the planning stages of a larger fundraiser
to be held this fall specifically to help with some renovations
around the library. Olson said the town and township are going to
work together to do some upgrades, and NAG hopes to be able to make
a significant contribution.
Besides all this, the group has in the past also made
donations to the local schools for their needs and has supported post-prom activities for area youth.
[By NILA SMITH]
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