RISE COMMUNITY FEEDS GREATER GLEN ELLYN

As many of you might know, one component of the RISE Challenge, an eight-week wellness and fitness challenge, is Feed a Friend week. Normally this means cooking for your Challenge teammate over the course of a week. This year though, with precautions in place as well as a greater community need due to Covid, Challengers got creative. Instead of cooking for teammates, Challengers were encouraged to donate to the Glen Ellyn Food Pantry that week.

"An anonymous RISE client and her husband were inspired by the dedication to our community and offered to match any monetary donations up to $3000," says Katelyn Kaese, owner of RISE. "RISE Challengers and clients across the board came together to raise a total of $6315.00 in a week. I couldn't be more proud of our RISE clients, the community we've created at RISE and the Glen Ellyn community we're lucky enough to be part of."

Clients of RISE often talk about the stand-out community at RISE. This is just one way in which the fitness studio is more than just a place to workout. "On behalf of the more than 5,000 neighbors at risk of hunger we serve, our 300+ volunteers, staff and board, the Glen Ellyn Food Pantry thanks everyone at RISE Glen Ellyn for your amazing donation," says Laura Glaza, executive director of the Glen Ellyn Food Pantry. "The pandemic has made the need for our services at Grace Lutheran Church more important than ever! With 94% of donations to the Pantry going directly to programs and services, we promise to be careful stewards of your donation. If you would like to learn more, please visit www.GlenEllynFoodPantry.org."