The Princeton Closet resale shop distributed $200,000 to local nonprofits Tuesday night during its annual Lending a Hand ceremony, with more than 60 representatives from local organizations attending the event to celebrate.
Checks were awarded to 44 nonprofit organizations serving Bureau County, continuing a tradition that has become the resale shop’s most anticipated event of the year.
“This is the night that we work toward all year long so we can give back to the area,” board President Dianne Van Drew said, speaking to attendees gathered inside the shop. “In the last 16 years, we’ve been able to give back $2.3 million to this great community. Think of all the lives that might have been touched because of that.”
Van Drew made sure to give credit to community donations, shoppers, staff, volunteers and board members for making the funding possible, noting that donated items are resold in the store, and proceeds are returned to the community through grants.
Funds distributed through the program support a range of local needs, including social services, youth programs, education, health-related initiatives and community organizations in the area.
Now in its 57th year, the annual ceremony saw one of its largest crowds, staff at the resale shop said.
Store manager Amy Murphy said the growing crowd each year shows continued community support and the overall reach of the program after all these years.
“To see all of you here just adds another level of accomplishment for everything that we do and the support that we give to the community,” Murphy told the crowd. “This isn’t about making money. It’s about lifting up and highlighting the organizations that we help and support.”
Murphy also encouraged organizations to work with Princeton Closet throughout the year to help share what they do and how the funding helps the community. She said the shop plans to highlight local nonprofits through social media and various in-store events to raise awareness.
At the end of the ceremony, representatives from each organization were invited forward to receive their checks.
Local nonprofits benefiting from the program were Princeton Club 56, Second Story Teen Center, Arukah Institute of Healing, Princeton Community Band, Bureau County Food Pantry of Tri-County Opportunities, Princeton Ministerial Association Assistance Fund, Barker Farm Outreach, Braveheart Children’s Advocacy Center, Western Bureau County Food Pantry, Playground Project at New Hope Church of the Nazarene, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Bureau County Senior Citizens Association, Cornerstone Community Wellness, Making It Program and Practical Christian Life Ministry at Hampshire Colony Congregational Church, Bureau Valley Buddy Bags, Wyanet United Methodist Church Food Pantry, Club VIP Ministry of Evangelical Covenant Church, Festival 56’s Shakespeare in the Park, Happy Hands Preschool at Evangelical Covenant Church, Helping Hands at New Hope Church of the Nazarene, Kids’ Klubs, Magi Baby Chest at St. Louis Catholic Church, Princeton Buddy Bags, Princeton Christian Academy, Princeton High School Music Boosters, University of Illinois Bureau County Extension, Walnut Historical Society, Gateway Services, American Legion Auxiliary Unit 125, Camp 56 and Learning Stage of the Princeton Theater Group, Bureau County Historical Society, First Lutheran Church mobile food distribution, American Legion Post 125, Bureau County Christmas for Kids, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of the North Central Regional Betterment Coalition, Illinois Valley Center for Independent Living Community Grant, Illinois Critical Access Hospital Network for Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training, Prairie Arts Council, MomCo of Bureau County, A Night to Remember, Flags of Freedom I-80, Ladd After School Program and Perfectly Flawed Foundation.