Dixon American Legion Post 12 will be serving baked ham, au gratin potatoes, rolls, vegetable, salad and dessert from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21, 2025, at 1120 W. First St.

Community members can browse and bid on more than 60 unique baskets and local gift certificates, all from the comfort of their home, while supporting programs that create lasting change in Lee County.

Kankakee County's Salvation Army kettle campaign, which has a goal of $75,000, is undeway in 10 locations throughout the area.

The Kankakee County Relay for Life event far exceeded its 2025 goal earlier this year as contributions have come in at $255,215.

Streetwise Tattoos, of Sterling, invites the community to take part in The Spirit of Giving Food Drive during a three-day tattoo-for-donations event from Nov. 21–23, 2025. It's an initiative supporting local food pantries and a newly opened homeless shelter.

On a recent crisp October day, the fellowship hall at Erie United Methodist Church buzzed with the hum of sewing machines and the laughter of volunteers. Almost a dozen church members and friends worked together to sew 165 handmade pillowcases for children in foster care.

Fans of the holiday classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” are in for a double treat when the Morrison Music Theater Association performs the radio version at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5, and 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6, at Crossroads Community Church, 300 W. South St. in Morrison.

These funds will benefit the renovation of the Boys & Girls Club of Joliet’s swimming pool exterior wall.

Over the past 112 years, the Rotary Club of Joliet has donated more than $1million in grants, scholarships and charitable support throughout the greater Joliet area.

The Lee County Historical and Genealogical Society presented a $1,000 check Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, to the city of Dixon to fund restorations to the Oakwood Cemetery Mausoleum.

Local 4-H members are collecting donations for three causes: supporting local food pantries, bringing comfort to pediatric patients at Serenity Hospice, and creating warmth for patients at OSF St. Katharine Medical Center.

The University of Illinois Extension serving Ogle and Carroll counties has received a $1,000 donation from CHS Rochelle to support the Ag in the Classroom program.

Donations will be accepted through Dec. 12 at any Oswego fire station. Additional Toys for Tots drop boxes are located across the Oswego area.

Community members are invited to sponsor a gift card to provide a holiday meal for families in need — $30 for a family of four or $50 for a family of six.

United Way of Whiteside County is launching an emergency weekend meals program beginning Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, to support school-age children affected by the ongoing SNAP benefit pause.

The Rochelle Community Action Network will host its annual Christmas shopping trip for families in need in the community on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. The event will include a coat drive.

St. James Lutheran Church in Forreston recently delivered 19 boxes of supplies to Zion Lutheran Church in Rockford.

Joliet police detective Jeremy Eaton addresses mental health in veterans through five different outlets.

The Birdies Fore Boobies Committee proudly presented a donation to Hope Cancer Wellness Center to support breast cancer patients and other individuals served by the center.

100 Women Who Care of Will County held its big check presentation on Oct. 29 for Team Nicholas, a group working to provide hospitalized children with gifts year round.

The Prophetstown-Lyndon Food Pantry is open from 9-11 a.m. every Tuesday at the American Legion Hall at 215 Washington St., Prophetstown.

For the past 70 years, the Mt. Morris Goodfellows have provided food assistance and fruit baskets to residents in Mt. Morris, thanks to the financial support of the community.

The donation from the Kiwanis Club of Dixon encourages students to participate in the Impact Program, gain valuable work experience, and graduate without the financial burden of tuition. 

Turkey for Tots benefit events to help local youth in need readies for upcoming Christmas holiday with benefit events set for the annual program in Kankakee County.

The 71 Reasons and More Foundation plans to use the funds to raise mental health awareness within the local youth community and offer students multiple scholarship opportunities.

Abbott and its philanthropic foundation, Abbott Fund, are teaming up with Northern Illinois Food Bank to help fight childhood hunger.

One Hope United, a nonprofit organization serving children and families across Illinois and Florida, is proud to announce the return of its Holiday Hope Express, a heartwarming gift drive that delivers holiday cheer to more than 10,000 children and families each year.

The Leaf River Soaring Eagles 4-H Club had its monthly meeting on Oct. 13, 2025.

After an 18-year delay, the final touch has been added to the Winifred H. Knox library in Franklin Grove.

The annual ham supper will start at 4:30 p.m. Nov. 12 at Tampico First United Methodist Church, 202 N. Lincoln St. in Tampico.

In preparation for First Responders Day on Oct. 28, 2025, Rochelle youths were encouraged to color one square of two, 20-piece paper quilts honoring Rochelle’s police and firefighters.

A St. Anne woman has spearheaded a drive to collect pop tabs for Comers Children's Hospital in Chicago and has already donated more than 1 million tabs.

Rochelle's Floyd J. Tilton VFW Post 3878 received a $1,000 donation from CHS on Oct. 13, 2025, to help pay for a new camera system.

This year, our Giving Tree will support the Recovery Community Center of Joliet (RCCJ), an organization dedicated to helping individuals and families affected by addiction find healing, stability, and hope.

Romeoville Fire Department K-9 Roy soon will receive a bullet- and stab-protective vest thanks to a charitable donation from the nonprofit organization Vested Interest in K9s, Inc.

After an 18-year delay, the final touch is added to the Winifred Knox Library in Franklin Grove.

People are invited to bring their donations of non-perishable, unexpired food items and toiletries to Cornerstone's main office at 550 W. Meadows Drive in Freeport.

Mt. Morris Loaves and Fish Food Pantry is seeking donations to provide holiday meals to local families in need. A monetary donation of $15 will allow Loaves and Fish Food Pantry to provide a local family the opportunity to enjoy a traditional holiday meal.

Treats, toiletries and handwritten cards have been shipped to the crew of the USS Fitzgerald.

Northern Illinois CPR & First Aid announced a financial donation to Highland Elementary School to purchase new equipment for students to use on the playground.

Menards in Sterling is serving as a food drop-off site through the month of October.

The drive will take place from 8 a.m. to noon Oct. 24, 2025, at the Sterling Police Department, 212 Third Ave. in the south parking lot.

The Mt. Morris American Legion Post 143 made a donation to “All Hands On Deck,” an outreach project of the Evangelical Free Church of Mt. Morris (EFCMM).  

A $1,500 grant from the Fulton Community Fund will provide books for more than 40 Fulton children through the United Way of Whiteside County’s LIFE (Literacy is Fun for Everyone) program in partnership with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.

Rochelle Foods recently presented a $5,000 donation to the Rochelle Christian Food Pantry.

Throughout the month of October, several local Dixon businesses are joining forces to support the OSF Foundation, with all proceeds benefiting the Women’s Imaging Center at OSF HealthCare Saint Katharine Medical Center.

As part of the ZERO Peaks Challenge, Carrie DeFuss – a nurse practitioner and “longtime advocate for prostate cancer patients” – will climb thousands of feet in elevation along ancient Inca pathways and tackle the rugged Andes mountains.

Holiday Food Baskets include a new coat, hat and gloves or mittens for each child in the household, gifts for each child and food for a holiday meal.

The Rochelle Rotary Club presented a $3,500 donation to the Rochelle Community Action Network on Sept. 23, 2025.

Rochelle Foods presented a donation of $5,000 to the Rochelle Area Community Foundation on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025.