Usually there is a steady stream of cars lining up outside of First Presbyterian Church of Arlington Heights when the church hosts its food drives, but Monday the subzero temperatures that followed a one-two wallop snowfall meant “an unusually slow” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service event, organizers said.
A few vehicles did roll through the four-hour event, dropping of requested donations of food and paper goods, according to organizer Michele Holifield. And amid single-digit temperatures that produced double-digit subzero windchills, passersby on foot stopped by to drop off items all bundled up.
Holifield said the church is grateful for each donation.
“First Presbyterian feels that it is important to live out our faith through our actions, and being a presence in our community,” said Holifield. “Our food and household essentials drive is a way that we can be of service on this day.”
The donated items are going to be given to the Wheeling Township food pantry, organizers explained.
Late Monday morning, Denise Beihoffer, 64, of Arlington Heights, and Sharon Ferdinand, 66, of Mount Prospect, dropped off multiple bags of goods. The longtime church members had just finished their two-hour morning volunteer shift for the food drive, only to come back with donations.
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“The need is there, whether it’s cold or not,” Ferdinand said.
This year was the fifth food drive at the church, and the Landwehr family has been volunteering for just as long.
Kurt and Darah Landwehr, of Palatine, have been bringing their three children — Charlie, Susannah and Everett — to volunteer at the food drive. It’s become a family tradition on MLK Day.
“We wanted to volunteer as a family, and this was something that was easier to do when the kids were younger,” Darah Landwehr, 45, said.
For the kids, “we get to learn the different services we can do,” said 14-year-old Charlie.
When a vehicle pulled up, the three children set out on a mad dash to the curb to accept the items being donated, carrying the haul – ranging from pantry items to paper goods – back into the church to be sorted and organized.
It’s not just a fun family activity, it’s also a life lesson.
“Even if they don’t have a lot to give, they’ll come and bring something because they want to contribute,” Charlie said.
Christine Won is a freelancer.