November 2011
The Halloween Candy Buy-Back Program goes on with a new partner!
Due to a "happy accident" - like peanut butter and chocolate - we found a new partner for our annual Halloween Candy Buy-Back this year. Aviva Plummer, a teacher in District 112, happened to be at a meeting that was also attended by Cindy Kane, Director of the Leukemia Research Foundation (LRF), and Drs. Kurt and Robyn Silberstein, who have sponsored the candy buy-back for many years. The result of that meeting was to allow our tradition to carry on through LRF, our new-found partner.
Candy was collected from 15 participating preschools, elementary schools and middle schools in Highland Park, Glencoe, and Deerfield and the JCYS Lutz Family Center in Highland Park, thanks to the generosity of children who who brought their Halloween candy to school to donate. Each pound collected earned $1 for the school and $1 for Friends United, courtesy of Drs. Kurt and Robyn Silberstein. Our combined collection total at the weigh-in was 3000 pounds of treats! The Leukemia Research Foundation will use the collected candy in the goody bags to be handed out at the wonderful annual kids' party they put on for children with leukemia and their families - so this is a win-win situation!
We are grateful for the efforts of the District 112 PTOs, the school administrators, the students and the parents for their overwhelming support and enthusiasm. The generosity of the children in sharing and being charitable and the community's team spirit are life lessons they will carry through their personal and professional lives. These donations will be far reaching to fund research to find a cure for diabetes in our lifetime.
June 22, 2011
Mah Jongg Night 2011
Our timing was either really bad or really good, depending on your viewpoint. On the downside, Mah Jongg Night 2011 was on June 22nd - the day after the massive storm with winds up to 80 mph that knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in the Chicago area, including much of Highland Park. But our venue, Stash's, had power, and for many of our guests Mahj Night was the perfect way to spend an evening when there was no electricity at home.
As a result, we had the biggest turnout ever for Mah Jongg Night. There was a party-like atmosphere with good food and a lot of good people. So who needs Internet or TV? All who came had a great time, some went home with fabulous raffle prizes, and Friends United will be able to make significant donations to fund diabetes research thanks to our very generous guests.
Click here to view a photo gallery of scenes from the evening!
October 31, 2010
Halloween Candy Buyback
Collection of candy at the schools started on Monday, November 1st. The Chicago Food Depository picked up the candy on November 8th. A whopping 1230 lbs of candy came from the Glencoe schools and about 850 pounds from the Highland Park schools. That's a lot of candy - see photos!
We thank our volunteers who helped pick up the candy and, of course, the Drs. Silberstein of Highland Park for being generous to our charity and the PTOs. A win/win situation.
June 24, 2010
Fifth Annual Mah Jongg Night
Friends United's Fifth Annual Mahj Nite was another huge success - 150 "majjers" brought in over $10,000. Great snacks courtesy of Corner Bakery, Max's Catering, Sunset Foods, and Starbucks Coffee and wine courtesy of Greg and Melissa Miller were appreciated by all! We want to thank our major Majjer, Robyn Berman, for putting this event together in spectacular style. She does it with ease and grace and we are very grateful to her. We also want to thank Cy Fredrics for donating a beautiful diamond and gold necklace for our raffle. We look forward to next year!
