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Mundelein schools turn spare change into Thanksgiving pies
Volunteers unload a shipment of 300 Market Day pies at Mechanics Grove School to be distributed to needy families for Thanksgiving dinner. | Michelle LaVigne ~ Sun-Times Media
More info
Residents looking to be part of the Friday, Nov. 16, food distribution at The Chapel/Mundelein Campus should contact Jeff Nagel at jeff.nagel@att.net or (847) 533-3780.
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Updated: November 12, 2012 8:59PM
MUNDELEIN — Nicole Nowicki, a fifth grader at Mechanics Grove School, and her family used their spare change jar to brighten Thanksgiving for less fortunate residents.
Thanks to the donation by the Nowickis and many other School District 75 families, 300 Market Day pies will be distributed to residents in need through a local food pantry.
Through the “Spare Change Challenge,” District 75 classrooms competed to see which class could raise the most money in a three-week period.
“For us, this was about trying to have the kids know that we should always be giving,” said Susan Nowicki, whose daughter brought a full bag of change to Mechanics Grove during the challenge. “We give to our church and we donate our time whenever we can.
“We wanted to be involved in this to support the school, to support the food pantry, and so the girls know their civic duty.”
Students at Washington Early Learning Center, Carl Sandburg Middle School and Mechanics Grove raised a total of $2,400 through the challenge. Jeff Nagel, domestic missions leader for The Chapel/Mundelein Campus, said the district fund-raiser works out well for his agency.
“It is perfect timing with Thanksgiving,” Nagel said. “We will have pumpkin and apple pies to deliver to people.”
On Nov. 16, the mobile food pantry will be distributing Thanksgiving baskets at The Chapel to between 250 and 300 families. Each basket will include a pie.
Nikki Earich, chairperson of the District 75 Parent-Teacher Organization Market Day, has stressed the importance of the fund-raiser and of Market Day in general to parents.
“You get 20 percent back if you reach $5,500 to $6,500 (in sales). That is money that goes back to the schools,” Earich said. “There was one year when my child didn’t take a field trip. So the money is needed.
“And like I tell people, ‘You’ve got to eat.’ If everyone just gets one thing, that will get us to that top tier. If we make that level, we get $1,600 back for the district.”
