7 minute read
Cover story
from DC_Midweek_112322
by Shaw Media
COVER STORY CURTAIN CALL FOR COLLECTING
Another season of holiday giving with Stage Coach Players, The Salvation Army comes to a close
By CAMDEN LAZENBY
clazenby@shawmedia.com
DeKALB – Volunteers with Stage Coach Players gathered the week leading up to Thanksgiving to collect the final donations needed to help give in-need local families a holiday spread.
The annual collection drive was held by the local theater troupe in partnership with the Salvation Army in DeKalb.
Each Thanksgiving dinner box Stage Coach Players and The Salvation Army provide will include enough food to feed six to eight people and a $20 gift card for a turkey, as well as the following items: stuffing, turkey gravy, whole kernel corn, green beans, dry pinto beans, white rice, canned diced pears, cranberry sauce, hot chocolate and brownie mix.
“I don’t think I’ve known one person that’s shown up today which means it’s our community that’s really giving back so, and we got quite a few checks,” said Jan Kuntz, a member of the Stage Coach Players community outreach committee.
Individuals who didn’t want to donate food were also able to contribute with checks – $35 equaled a fully stocked food box for a family in need. The food drive may have been seasonal, but the giving initiative has been at Stage Coach Players for years – at least since the COVID-19 pandemic set in.
“When they closed us down, we came in and immediately wiped down the whole building with Lysol and then we tried to think of ways we could help the community,” Gloria Dennison, a self described “longtime Stage Coacher” who’s directed, performed on stage, designed sets and ran the box office for 22 years.
Kuntz said Stage Coach Players decided to hold food drives but in the middle of 2020 – the height of the pandemic, when professional grade masks were scarce and left for essential workers – homemade masks were commonly used and worn. So the community theater group put on food drives but also gave away masks to those seeking.
Fifteen different food pantries had some type of partnership with Stage Coach Players’ food drives during the pandemic, Kuntz said.
“We were here every week during the pandemic, throughout the whole thing,” Kuntz said.
When putting on a play to a significantly sized audience wasn’t allowed, Stage Coach Players focused on its charitable efforts.
“It was something we could do to give back to the community that supported us for 75 years,” Dennison said. “But it’s also kept us able to do something because we’re very busy when we get involved with our rehearsals and our shows and then all of the sudden we had we nothing, and so this gave us something to do, too.”
That effort eventually created the Stage Coach Players community outreach committee, something both Kuntz and Dennison are a part of. Two years later, Kuntz said the community theater group also recently held a big food drive at Northern Illinois University.
“We’ve got a nice working relationship with the people at NIU,” Kuntz said.
With Thanksgiving donations ready to go, Stage Coach Players already are looking toward its next holiday community outreach initiative. This week starts the beginning of the theater’s giving tree.
“We will have tags for Salvation Army, we’ll have tags for the senior citizens in our community and then we will have a box for our new toys for Toys For Tots,” Kunt said. “So for the next three weeks then we’ll be collecting Christmas items for those different groups.”
Kuntz said the giving tree is akin to The Salvation Army’s giving tree, meant to help provide children and older adults with the opportunity to get something on their wish list.
Donations are due by Dec. 6, Kuntz said.
Mark Busch – mbusch@shawmedia.com Stage Coach Players Outreach Committee member Jan Kuntz wheels a cart full of donated food items into the theater in DeKalb Tuesday, Nov. 15, for their Thanksgiving food drive. The group is working with the Salvation Army to put together Thanksgiving meals for local families in need.
Photo provided by the Kishwaukee College Foundation (From left) Executive Director of the Kishwaukee College Foundation Dr. Kayte Hamel, Distinguished Alumni Award recipients John and Jenny Hall and Kishwaukee College Foundation Board Immediate Past President Nicole Williams pose for a picture at the Kishwaukee College Foundation’s annual gala.
Kish College foundation announces Distinguished Alumni Award recipients
Shaw Local News Network
MALTA – The Kishwaukee College Foundation announced the recipients of the 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award.
John and Jenny Hall received the award at the Kishwaukee College Foundation Annual Gala on Nov. 5, according to a news release
The award honors established alumni who have demonstrated service or outstanding contributions within the Kishwaukee community.
John Hall graduated from DeKalb High School in 1999 and attended Kishwaukee College for the next chapter in his education. Jenny Hall began her higher education at a private college, then transferred to Kishwaukee College a year later. The couple met while attending Kishwaukee College.
After graduating, John joined Area Erectors and works for the company in sales and project management. He later served as the assistant coach for the Kishwaukee College men’s soccer team from 2011 to 2013.
Following his time as a coach, John became involved with regional soccer programs, where he witnessed numerous athletes being recruited to play on semi-pro teams located outside of the area. Seeing an opportunity to build a club in their community, John sought input from Jenny.
In 2016, the couple worked with area partners to create a semi-pro team to bring the local community together through the game of soccer and launched DeKalb County United in 2017.
In 2022, the two leading youth soccer clubs in the area joined DKCU to create the DKCU Academy. The academy offers a comprehensive player development pathway ranging from youth soccer ages under eight to college, semi-pro, and beyond. For information, visit kish. edu/foundation.
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