Lake Run Club Community Blog

  ABC#181 on September 9 was another success with $1080 donated to Seedling Theatre thanks to the generosity of everyone involved, including: (a) Laurel & Larry Schumacher for being awesome hosts at their home and for providing several door prizes. (b) 30 participants plus four other donors. (c) Betty Brandt , for getting the Thrivent sponsorship covering the t-shirts and much of the food and drink. Betty also provided the cool Lake Superior “ABC 2023” painted stones. (d) Donna Anhalt for donating tickets to an upcoming performance for our drawing. (e) Everyone who brought food ! I don’t recall all of the food, but Lisa Sparks made the coffee cake, Stacy Sheridan made the casserole & banana cake, Laukrel Schumacher prepared the biscuits & gravy. Other food contributors included Dawn Dieckgrafe , Felicia Harrison , Jane Camp , Paulette Coco , Jeanne Gleason , and Liz Johnson . Seedling Theatre is a wonderful theatrical program for children & young adults &

 Much thanks to Mike & Dawn Laffey for being super hosts for ABC #180 at their home on June 11. Rain nixed the pool party but a great sum of $2,975 was donated to St. Jude by the 14 attendees plus another 12 that donated online or sent a check. Thanks so much to everyone for your participation, donations, and providing food. A partial list of food providers include Lisa Sparks (coffee cake), Dawn Laffey (casserole, beverages), Laura Hamilton (casserole), Stacy Sheridan (banana bread), Sandra Sharp (fruit), and Betty Brandt (fudge). We’ve held a total of 21 ABC runs for St. Jude and the total of those runs is $40,568. The total for all 180 ABC runs is $217,191 . Merci…gracias…takk…thank you for all of your support over the years!

 ABC#179/Multi-Sport on May 20 was a great day. Thanks to 33 participants, $740 was donated to Timber Pointe Outdoor Center. We had to cancel the swim but it was a nice cool morning to run and to bicycle. Thanks so much to everyone who donated, attended, organized, volunteered, brought food, cooked, and enhanced the day with your enthusiasm. At 8:00, Lydia Gartner thanked us and told us about Timber Pointe’s programs. We than took a group photo and started the run. Some ran the road course (4 or 8 miles) and some ran trails. At 9:15, bicyclists took off for either 13 or 26 miles.   At 11:30, the cookout started. What a feast: grilled chicken breasts, brats, snacks, apple pie, coffee cake, cookies, banana bread, and beverages. Thanks to the chefs, Mike Johnson and Robbie Pratt . Also thanks to those who brought food. A partial list includes Central Illinois Masters Swim Team (brats, chicken breasts, snack), Lisa Sparks (coffee cake), Kevin Fahling (cookies), Rebecca Africano

  Fantastic ABC run! A total of $4,110 was donated to The Baby Fold by 63 participants, including 53 attendees plus another ten that either mailed a check or used the online option. Thanks so much for your generosity and enthusiasm!   Thanks to Aimee Beam for being a great host, providing food & beverages, and having the Easter Egg Hunt. Thanks to Laurel Schumacher for making the coffee cake, Kevin Fahling for the cookies, and all the others who brought food. Thanks to Mike Laffey for taking the photos. Aimee Beam wanted me to let you know how much she appreciates this level of support. The donations this year will be going to the Family and Community Stabilization fund . This will help families with food, utilities, and other basic needs to keep children safe amid rising prices.  Thanks to State Farm for their matching program. We do not count State Farm matches in the ABC event total, but it could be a nice boost considering the number of employees in our group.. Please remem

  It was a 20/20 day (20 degrees, 20 mph wind) but still good for a run/walk. Thanks to 34 participants (27 attended, 7 mailed checks), a fine total of $865 was donated to Scott Early Learning Center. Stacy & Pat Sheridan were great hosts! There was ample space to spread out to eat &socialize. At 8:05 we convened to thank the participants, say a few words about SELC, and present the “ABC Top Dog” traveling trophy to Bill Hahm for his great support of ABC runs over the years (Bill has participated in 91 ABC runs). Following a group photo, Pat Sheridan led the runners on a 5-mile adventure. Back at the Sheridan home, the feast was awesome! Thanks so much all who brought food and drink. To the best of my memory, the menu included: - coffee cake and a breakfast casserole from Stacy Sheridan , - breakfast casseroles (meat and meatless) from Laura Hamilton , - cinnamon rolls from Tammy Knippenberg & Rae Ann Ploense , - yogurt & granola from Ted O’Neil , - banana wal

 A fine total of $1,560 was donated to Sugar Grove Nature Center by 32 participants, including six donations from those that could not attend. That brings the total of all 18 ABC runs for SGNC to $19,998. Thanks everyone!  When I arrived, Jill Wallace of SGNC was already there with the coffee, chocolate mile, orange juice, fruit, and treats. A big thanks to Jill for doing a superb job of hosting.  After posing for the group photo, many participants took to the trails. Erin Furimsky suggested doing the yoga tree pose near the oak tree. One rebel, Pat Sheridan , opted for tree hugging. We enjoyed a variety of great eats after the run. Stacy Sheridan made Meg’s Coffee Cake, Kathy Alexander brought Kind Bars (dark chocolate cherry cashew), Jill Wallace provided beverages, fruit, and treats. Others brought food as well but I didn’t notice where all the food came from. It just magically appears every ABC run. Thanks so much to everyone who attended, contributed, brought food, an

  Wow! A total of $2,450 was donated to Adopt-A-Family by the 29 participants on November 5, plus six other supporters that were unable to attend. This will provide a great Christmas for our assigned family and might be enough for two more families. Those that submit their donations to their corporate matching gift program will help even more.   Thanks, everyone, for your support and thanks to Lisa & Jay Sparks for doing a great job hosting at their home.   At 9:00, Lisa thanked everyone and briefly told us about the program. After a group picture, we headed out for a run or walk on the constitution trail. There was a weather advisory, but we lucked out and the rain and stronger winds held off.   Thanks to Mike and Dawn Laffey for bringing Peter and Pam Helander to their first ABC run. Peter and Dawn are great friends from Wisconsin that happened to be in town for the weekend. We were treated to a superb breakfast of blueberry pancakes prepared by Jay Sparks , coffee ca