Algonquin Church Dishing out Thanksgiving Meal to Area Homeless

As soon as Lifeline Christian Church , pastor Dave Rudin set out to identify the community’s needs. He quickly was directed to Patty Briones, assistant homeless liaison for District 300.

After learning the staggering numbers of homeless students in the district, Rudin and other members of Lifeline had the idea to host a Thanksgiving meal for those families in need.

“Right here within a five-mile radius, there are people who are really struggling,” Rudin said. “So many families are just a paycheck away from real danger. We want to add value and share hope in the community, and this event was a tangible way to do that.”

The non-denominational Christian church, which holds weekly services at Algonquin’s , considered buying a catered meal from the bowling alley.

“In the end, it just wasn’t possible cost-wise,” Rudin said.

They also contacted local restaurants to inquire about catered meals but ran into similar issues. Rudin then realized that they might be able to cook the food themselves and hold the event at Brunswick Zone.

“My wife has experience coordinating events and cooking for dozens, hundreds of people," Rudin said.

They ran with the idea.

Brunswick Zone, which is also open to the public on Thanksgiving day, allowed Lifeline to host the event there and use its kitchen and ovens, and the church asked for food donations from members.

“It turned out to be an enormous success,” Rudin said. “We fed over 100 people, each family got one hour of bowling and each child got a $20 game card. “We wanted to give the event a quality, banquet feel. We didn’t want people to feel rushed off.”

Lifeline even had enough food left over last year to give unused canned goods as well as leftovers to families.

This year, Lifeline had more time to plan their More Than a Meal event. Last Monday, Lifeline held a “” at Brunswick Zone in order to collect donations for the event. The bowling alley also offered incentives like raffle tickets and giveaways to encourage people to donate.

“We needed five turkeys to feed 100 people, and we received 14, 20-lb. frozen turkeys,” Rudin said. “The community went above and beyond. This is a win-win situation on so many levels.”

This year, Lifeline hopes to serve 150 people and to again give away any unused food to people in need.

“We’re experiencing the joy of giving—thinking beyond yourself,” Rudin said.

For more information, email info@lifelinecc.org.