As Hundred Club expands statewide, coalition of McHenry County rotary clubs plan fundraiser

Fundraiser will feature four events Oct. 3 at Cary, Lake in the Hills-Algonquin, McHenry Township and Woodstock fire departments

Following the death of McHenry County sheriff’s Deputy Jake Keltner in 2019, the Hundred Club of Illinois expanded the benefits it provides to surviving family members of public safety personnel killed in the line-of-duty to include McHenry County.

Members of the nonprofit, along with those from the Rotary Club of Cary-Grove, met April 18 with members of the Cary Fire Protection District and Cary Police Department to explain the benefits offered by the Hundred Club of Illinois to police officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians and to discuss an upcoming fundraising event, according to a news release.

Regan Raimondi and Lauren Petrosky of the Hundred Club of Illinois presented information about the financial and educational benefits offered to family members of public safety personnel who die in the line-of-duty, as well as about the nonprofit’s expansion statewide.

Originally, the 100 Club provided benefits only to Cook County law enforcement and their families, expanding to Lake County about a decade ago, Cary Police Chief Patrick Finlon said. The 100 Club expanded to McHenry County after Keltner’s death and then this March expanded to all of Illinois.

A fundraiser scheduled later this year is meant to benefit the Hundred Club of Illinois, Finlon said at the meeting. Finlon is also a member of the Rotary Club of Cary-Grove.

Events will take place simultaneously from 1 to 6 p.m. Oct. 3 at the Cary Fire Protection District, Lake in the Hills-Algonquin Fire Protection District, McHenry Township Fire Protection District and the Woodstock Fire/Rescue Department, according to the release.

The events are sponsored by the McHenry County Rotary Coalition, a group of thirteen McHenry County rotary clubs, which sought to take on a project with countywide impact, according to the release.