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 On
Saturday, December 2, Elkhart Needs and Goals (NAG) hosted its
annual bake sale fundraiser at the Elkhart Village Hall. All the
proceeds of the fundraiser went to NAG and the good work it does for
the Elkhart community. The Grinch of Logan County also made an
appearance, taking pictures with kids and families during the event.
A breakfast of Grinch donuts, hot chocolate, and other delicious
snacks was offered to everyone in attendance.
NAG has been hosting this bake sale for many years, with Leslie
Urish planning and organizing the Grinch event this year. Over the
past several years, Urish shared, the event coinciding with the
fundraiser had been Polar Express themed. This year, however, Urish
decided to go with a Grinch theme, inviting the Grinch of Logan
County to attend. The room the Grinch breakfast was hosted in was
covered from top to bottom in Grinch decorations. Urish shared that
this year’s breakfast event was the biggest one yet. Six dozen
donuts were purchased, all being eaten. Over 100 cups were purchased
for hot chocolate, with all of those were used as well.
At about 9 a.m., the Grinch of Logan County made his
appearance. The room the Grinch was in was absolutely packed with
people trying to not only get food, but also get a picture with the
Grinch. Many kids were excited to take their picture with the
Grinch, some coming back over several times to say hi. Most of those
who were a bit more reluctant were won over by the present box of
candy the Grinch offered. The Grinch was more than happy to offer
these treats, proving that his heart had indeed grown three sizes.
For those unaware, Amber and Kristin Landers of
Lincoln are the ones who run the Grinch of Logan County Facebook
page. They started this a few years back after their sister Ashley
passed away. The Grinch was Ashley’s favorite Christmas character,
and they felt dressing up as the Grinch at events in the county was
a great way to honor their sister’s memory. While Kristin is usually
the one who dresses up as the Grinch, they ended up getting double
booked that day. This was not an issue, as Amber shared that they
had purchased a second Grinch costume this year. The only problem
was finding someone to wear the costume.
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Luckily, Lincoln local Cole Hall was more than happy
to oblige. Hall, a Lincoln Junior High School drama club member,
jumped at the chance, perfectly portraying the character.
All proceeds that the Lander sisters make go to a
different charity each year. This year, all of their proceeds are
going to St. Jude Children's Hospital. Amber also shared that they
make house calls to parties at peoples’ homes. If you are interested
in booking the Grinch for a party you are hosting, you can get
pricing and scheduling information by messaging the Grinch of Logan
County on their Facebook page
here.
Lois Olson, president of NAG, shared with LDN some of
the great work their bake sale proceeds go toward. NAG has provided
and pays for Life Alert systems for some of the elderly members of
the Elkhart community. Currently, Olson shared, there are about four
or five lifelines in use. Olson also shared information about the
park they helped refurbish on Governor Oglesby Street. While the
Village of Elkhart did the work, NAG funded it through their
fundraising efforts as well as a few grants they were able to
secure. Olson also shared that NAG has a board of fifteen members,
but that really everyone is a member of NAG.
[Matt Boutcher] |
