Community breakfast, collection and more.
Libertyville
Festival: St. Demetrios Philoptochos Society will present its Greek Food Festival from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church, 1400 N. O’Plaine Road, between routes 120 and 137. The Athenian kitchen and bake sale will be serving leg of lamb, chicken, dolmathes, spinach and cheese puffs and more. The bakery will feature baklava, diples, yalaktobouriko and many more. Carryouts available. For more information, call 224-513-5530.
Gurnee
Prayer breakfast: The Exchange Clubs of Lake County will host a free One Nation Under God annual Prayer Breakfast from 7 to 8:30 a.m. Nov. 24 at the Village Church of Gurnee, 1319 N. Hunt Club Road. The event, open to the public, is hosted each year during the week of Thanksgiving to bring communities and businesses together. The program will begin with a welcome by Gurnee Police Chief Kevin Woodside and an opening prayer by Pastor Todd Habegger, senior pastor, Village Church of Gurnee. There will be the Presentation of the Colors by the Gurnee fire and police departments; a performance by the Viking Park Singers; recognition of military veterans; and keynote address by Allen Lynch, Medal of Honor recipient. Adelia Mahaffee of Gurnee, 14, a student at Warren Township High School, will “God Bless America.” She is the daughter of former Assistant State’s Attorney Shane Mahaffee, who served in the Army Reserve and was killed in Iraq in 2006. A buffet style breakfast will be served. The Exchange Clubs of Lake County are Grayslake, Gurnee, North Chicago, Round Lake, and Waukegan. For more information, contact Hanna Blockinger, at 847-244-6510 or email [email protected].
Vernon Hills
Collection: State Rep. Carol Sente, D-Vernon Hills, will host her annual Cellphones for Soldiers Drive to help service men and women call home to their families this holiday season. Throughout the months of November and December, Sente will be collecting gently used cellphones at her office, 294 Evergreen Drive, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. For every gently used phone donated with a value of more than $5, a soldier deployed overseas will receive up to two-and-a-half hours of free talk time to call home to their loved ones. For more information, or to schedule a drop-off, call 847-478-9909 or email [email protected].
Lake County
Nominations: Operation Homefront, the national nonprofit dedicated to building strong, stable and secure military families, has announced that nominations for the 2016 Military Child of the Year are being accepted through Dec. 11. Awardees will be recognized in April 2016. This award is presented to an outstanding child from each branch of service — Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard — and the National Guard. The recipients each receive a $10,000 award and a laptop, and are flown with a parent or guardian to Washington, D.C., for a special awards gala April 16. In previous years, recipients have had the honor of meeting the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, First Lady Michelle Obama, former NFL star and philanthropist Jason Brown and singer, songwriter and philanthropist Bret Michaels, who were guest speakers for the event awards ceremonies. Anyone can nominate a child. Family members, teachers, coaches, counselors, clergy, neighbors and friends are encouraged to nominate outstanding military children. For more information on how to nominate a child in your community or to see photos from past events, visit MilitaryChildOfTheYear.org.
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