The Good Fellows Christmas Basket program is a large-scale operation, as the numbers show:
— Students and volunteers delivered the food baskets to 950 households Friday.
— Making this possible were hundreds of local high school and junior high student volunteers, joined by Kewanee Kiwanis Club members and other adults.
— And it was all paid for — at a cost of $38,000 — from donations.
Amy Miler, Key Club advisor, who coordinated the preparation and delivery of the grocery boxes that were delivered, said there were three nights this week when non-perishable foods were placed in boxes lined up on the floor of the new gym at Central School.
At least 150 student volunteers showed up to work each of those nights.
The “cold stuff” — including turkeys, milk and eggs — were loaded into the food packages just before they were delivered Friday.
A number of cars and pickup trucks, some pulling trailers, were lined up in the parking lot outside the gym, waiting to be loaded with food packages for delivery. Miler estimated that it would take three to four hours to finish the deliveries.
While the Good Fellows program provides what are labeled as Christmas baskets, the boxes contain much more food than can be used for one Christmas dinner.
There’s spaghetti sauce, pasta, a loaf of bread with peanut butter and jelly, butter, soup, canned vegetables, fresh fruit, tuna and Tuna Helper, for example.
Miler mentioned a special item included in the food packages this year: Dinner rolls baked by the students in Tom Campbell’s culinary arts class at Kewanee High School.
She said today’s packaging and delivery work involved 100 KHS Key Club members, 20 students from Wethersfield High School, at least 30 adult volunteers, Kiwanis members, law enforcement officers, OSF and Key Club parents.
Student organizations taking part in creating and delivering the food packages were Key Clubs from both local high schools; Builders Clubs for seventh- and eighth-graders from Kewanee, Wethersfield, Neponset and Visitation schools; boys and girls basketball teams and the wrestling team at KHS; and KHS music students.
Ken Knowles, who has been involved in the Good Fellows program since 1982, said while this year’s basket delivery wasn’t a record, it was close to one.
Amron Buchanan, who was active in Good Fellows for many years as the KHS Key Club adviser, said the program wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of current and former Kewaneeans and people who shop in Kewanee.
Buchanan said the money for the project comes from a tag day the students hold in October and from money raised from a mailing to local residents.
He said Good Fellows also receives money from KHS grads who no longer live in Kewanee.
One of them, a KHS grad who’s a lawyer and now lives in Indiana, sent a $1,000 donation, Buchanan said.
