Every December the Excel (Jr. Exchange) Club, with the help of Exchangite Roz Morris and others, host the annual Breaking Free Christmas Dinner. This year the dinner is Dec. 5 at LaSierra in Aurora. The owner of LaSierra graciously donates the use of his banquet facility and cooks the meal that serves more than 600 people. The Naperville Costco also donates bread and desserts.
Breaking Free, a local social service agency, invites the families for this annual event. Members of the Junior Exchange Club work all year in preparation for this feast. They raise funds at Ribfest by selling glow sticks and other novelty items.
The members also put together fun activities for the children and make sure that each child receives a present. This is a way for the members of Junior Exchange to give back to the community. Donations are always welcome. Please contact me at the e-mail below if you would like to contribute to this worthwhile event.
In addition, Exchange Club gives back to the Community is by allocating funds from Ribfest every February.
This year, for the first time, our nonprofit beneficiaries also were offered a chance via lottery to receive a signed guitar from a Ribfest Main Stage entertainer to feature in a raffle at their own fundraising events.
The following organizations received guitars: Edward Foundation (Slash); 360 Youth Services (Lynyrd Skynyrd); Turning Pointe (Styx); Youth Outlook (Rick Springfield); Naperville CARES (Casey James) and Families Helping Families (Love and Theft).
The Naperville Exchange Club members are very fortunate to be part of such a giving community and we are grateful to be able to give back to these organizations.
