Sweet Gesture Helps Out Veterans

A New Lenox man encourages donations to the Manteno veterans home through candy.

A moment of sweet inspiration has brightened the day of hundreds of Illinois veterans. About four years ago, New Lenox resident Jim Kranz noticed a display of candy on post-holiday clearance at Walgreens on Schoolhouse Road, where he works as a cashier. On a whim, he bought some – a lot. It was more than he needed, so he called the Illinois Veterans Home at Manteno to see if anyone there could use it. Come on down, they said. Since then, Kranz has made monthly visits to the Veterans Home, each time donating roughly 250 individual bars and bags of candy. It’s been a group effort, Kranz said. In addition to buying the clearance candy, he has also collected candy donated by others. The Manteno Veterans Home houses about 260 veterans, men and …

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patrick markham

3:37 pm on Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Semper Fi !, Small acts of kindness. A civilization can be judged by its mercy or deeds! Jim if you reading email me pmarkham1@yahoo.com. I would like to get Mokena walgreens covered and work in concert with your efforts. Patrick Markham   more ›

Intersections of Life and Faith

Frankfort Church Hosts Site for Hunger Outreach

Working with Angel Food Ministries, the International Community Church offers low-priced food for everyone.

“It’s kind of like market day,” said Rhonda Hammond, who coordinates the Angel Food Ministries for International Community Church in Frankfort. “It’s great because anybody could do this. You could be a millionaire and still just go online and order food once a month." Hammond is talking about a national outreach program that started in Atlanta and is now in 35 states. Angel Food Ministries offers restaurant quality food at a deep discount to consumers. The program’s goal, according to the organization's website, is to provide one meal a day for a week for a family of four or one meal a day for a month for an individual. The organization currently helps feed more than 500,000 families a month. No expired or seconds-quality food is used. The…

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Will County Agencies Offer Volunteer Opportunities for MLK Day

Two local groups are turning a national holiday into a day of service for students.

Two Will County organizations are using the Martin Luther King Day holiday to give back to the community as part of a national day of service for students who have the day off. The Community Services Council in Joliet, a coalition of Will County social service groups, business and individuals, will be helping out nonprofit organizations by doing maintenance and clean-up work for them, said R. Dale Evans, president of the council. The NAACP and the University of St. Francis also are sponsors of the effort. The volunteering runs from 7:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Monday. Participants will check in at an intercontinental breakfast at Mt. Zion Family Life Center, 402 Singleton Place, Joliet.  For more information, volunteers can contact Evans at 815-549…

Helping Hands

Mike Nowakowski Aids Community Through Numerous Charities, Knight of Columbus

Serving as leader for the local Knights of Columbus group is just the latest effort of one man's ongoing commitment to volunteering.

For Michael Nowakowski, charity through the Knights of Columbus runs in the family. His grandfather was a founding member of the group at the St. Bruno parish in Chicago and served as that council's second Grand Knight. Nowakowski's father was the group's financial secretary for about 20 years. “My dad passed away when I was 12 and even though he was gone, the Knights took care of us," he said. "Our family was invited to parties and other events as guests until I was 18.” Flash forward to 12 years ago when a neighbor brought him into the council that he now leads as the Grand Knight for the local chapter of the Knights of Columbus, a men's fraternal benefit and community service organization based out of St. Jude Catholic Church. His …

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John Petrosky

8:23 am on Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Unfortunately there was neither space nor the right place to include the following note about the Knights as an organization: Among countless other well-known and upstanding citizens that are Knights of Columbus was U.S. District Court Judge John M. Roll. He was one of the six victims fatally shot in Toucson, Arizona as part of the attack on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' public event. As a "Fourth …   more ›

Weekly Wrapup

What Made Headlines From Dec. 26-Jan. 1

The last days of 2010 were filled with New Year's Eve advice, a dog rescue and ilegal snowmobiling.

"Most of my time is spent making beats. That's my hobby, I guess, and my future career. That's how I hope to make my living. Everyone wants a job that's fun to go to." --Cody Knazze, a Lincoln-Way North High School senior who is building a reputation in the music world by creating hooks and beats then leasing and selling them to other musicians. Fine a federal regulatory group imposed on Canadian National Railway, which owns a line that runs through Frankfort. The downtown music shop began the new year with a bluegrass concert and is looking at expanding to space on the second floor of the Trolley Barn. Three area men on snowmobiles were taken into custody after leading Frankfort police on a chase while allegedly illegally driving …

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Helping Hands

Township Food Pantry Operations Different, Yet Also Very Similar

Responding to a reader inquiry, we look at requirements to utilize food pantries in the New Lenox and Frankfort townships.

As the 2010 year winds down to a close, it seemed a good time to finish up this year's business by addressing a concerned raised by one reader though potentially held by many more: qualifying for assistance. In New Lenox Township, requirements to receive aid from the food pantry are only to show proof of residency; beyond that, there are is no further documentation needed.  Kathy Johnson, Family Services Manager for New Lenox Township, put it best by pointing out, "When you're on the outside looking in, you don't know the whole story." Although she was speaking about the situation her clients might be in, the same also seems to apply for the situation Johnson and the New Lenox Township food pantry are in. That situation is as follows: …

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patrick markham

4:29 pm on Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Thanks John, I truly respect the "Patch" ability to cover so much news both good and of course the bad. It speaks volumes of a great "culture" you and Caroline and others have at the "Patch". I have one more "good News " item i will post up in comments. thanks patrick markham   more ›