Meals on Wheels Northeastern Illinois reached its fundraising goal of $125,000, at its first in-person fundraising gala since 2019 on Friday.

The Evanston nonprofit prepares and delivers meals to senior citizens and others unable to cook for themselves, from the area north of Chicago to the Wisconsin state line. Meals on Wheels volunteer Allison Goldsmith said the money raised Friday will help fuel this mission.

“(This money) will go towards serving more people. That’s the goal,” Goldsmith said. “A fundraiser like tonight makes it so they can go out and get more food and get more volunteers and get more equipment.”

Meals on Wheels hosted its annual gala at Evanston’s Double Clutch Brewing Company, called “Let the Good Times Roll.” For dinner, the organization provided the same food it serves its clients. This lets donors and volunteers taste the food that drives the organization’s work, the organization’s Executive Director Deborah Morganfield said. 

Lenore Erickson, president of the Meals on Wheels Northeastern Illinois Board, said she was excited to celebrate the organization’s work.

“This is a real, community-based organization with community-based volunteers and community-based clients that we serve,” Erickson said.

The event featured a “State of the Organization” speech from Morganfield, as well as video messages from U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and the mayors of North Chicago and Skokie.

Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss attended the beginning of the event to show his support for the organization.

“It’s a wonderful organization and really fills a critical gap in our community,” he told The Daily. “I hope the organization raises the funds to do the wonderful work that they’re committed to.”

For the fundraising portion of the event, Board President-Elect Steve Johnson led attendees in a paddle raise in which he called out an amount of money, and attendees raised their paddles to indicate if they were willing to donate that amount. 

In her “State of the Organization speech,” Morganfield said Meals on Wheels addresses a critical need in the community. 

“It’s not even a matter of ‘If you build it, they will come.’ They are here,” Morganfield said about the increasing demand for their services in the area. “This is a problem that we know how to solve, and it’s right before us, so let’s do it together as a community.”

Blues and folk singer Nicholas Barron performed music at the event, followed by Sam Llanas of the rock band BoDeans. Singing and dancing ensued during his set at the end of the night.

Meals on Wheels also gave out two awards to honor outstanding volunteers. The first award was the Barbara LaVoy Award, and was given to volunteer Janet Lutz.

Michael Tufano received the Elizabeth McHugh Award, a new award this year that honors a Meals on Wheels volunteer who recently passed away. 

“I promise to live up to (Elizabeth’s) memory,” Tufano said during his speech, urging others to volunteer. “If you can deliver meals to someone it will alter your life.” 

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