IV Cellular donates to area food pantries

Russ Wagner of New Beginnings Church of Manlius (formerly Faith Christian Church of Buda), Joanne Baker of Wyanet United Methodist Church Food Pantry and Connie Doran of Freedom House accept donations from Kathy DeSerf of Illinois Valley Cellular, representing funds raised through a holiday promotion run by the company. Donations were also given to Hall Township Food Pantry, Walnut Community Food Pantry and Bureau County Food Pantry whose representatives were absent. (BCR photo/Donna Barker)

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When Illinois Valley Cellular implemented its “Charity Begins At Home” program, CEO Tom Walsh envisioned empowering the company’s customers in ventures to raise funds — and awareness — for the many charities in its service area. However, the latest fundraising effort went above and beyond his expectations.

“It’s absolutely amazing to see the outpouring of generosity from our customers, and to be able to offer over 65,000 meals for the local food pantries. It’s almost beyond comprehension that a dollar here and a dollar there can translate into so many actual meals for those in need during these tough economic times,” Walsh said.

Indeed, it was the alarming rise in unemployment both nationally and in the area that prompted this latest venture.

“More than ever, every food pantry needs every bit of help any of us can give, and I feel we came through in a big way thanks to our customers who took to heart that ‘charity begins at home,’” added Walsh.

The holiday promotion was a simple one: For every new Illinois Valley Cellular customer or existing customers that upgraded their service, customers were asked to donate either $10, $25 or $50 — along with matching funds from Illinois Valley Cellular — to the local food pantries. The promotion yielded donations from every corner of Illinois Valley Cellular’s service area. Moline’s Riverbend Food Bank, the organization that provides goods to more than 15 local food pantries in five of the eight counties, received the bulk of the donations.

Caren Laughlin, marketing director of Riverbend Foodbank, Moline, explained that Riverbend is a “clearing house” of sorts that distributes food to the many food pantries in Illinois. Of receiving the call with the news of the donation from Illinois Valley Cellular and its customers, Laughlin said, “I just shrieked! I couldn’t believe it when Tom (Walsh) called. That is simply a massive amount of food for those in need, and the area is so lucky to have a company like Illinois Valley Cellular that cares so much.”

Laughlin added, “We are overwhelmed with the generosity of Illinois Valley Cellular and their customers. This donation will mean that the pantries in the Illinois Valley Cellular Service area will get almost 100,000 pounds of food brought to their doorsteps to help feed families who are struggling. That’s huge especially right now in these counties where unemployment is high, and so many more people are needing help.”

According to Laughlin, Riverbend delivers to food pantries three times weekly at a fraction of the cost of retail-pricing. She gave as an example, the cost of a box of cereal or can of tuna for the pantries was roughly 18 cents — compared to the cost at a retail grocery store at about $2.99.

Laughlin said, “Thirty dollars fills half of a pickup truck with goods for the pantries, so about $10 in donations to a food pantry translates to about 10 times that amount at a chain grocery store. You can only imagine what a donation of over $21,000 translates to in the way of providing meals to those in need, who can access the food monthly at their local food pantry. It’s as if the pantries were given a gift certificate to a chain grocery store for 10 to 20 times the actual amount.”

Among the many food pantries that benefited from this fundraiser from Bureau County were Freedom House, Hall Township Food Pantry, Walnut Community Food Pantry, Wyanet United Methodist, Faith Christian Church, and the Bureau County Food Pantry.