Thousands of local residents left the campus of MacMurray College with full stomachs throughout the day yesterday.
The 69th annual Kiwanis Club Pancake and Sausage Dinner was held at the McClelland Dining Hall at MacMurray College starting from 6 a.m. and running all the way past 7:30 p.m., and saw an increased turnout compared to 2017. This year’s Mr. Pancake, who leads the committee who organizes the yearly fundraiser, was Justin McMurphy. He says yesterday’s 69th annual Pancake and Sausage was a success despite some unfavorable weather, and wants to thank all of those who volunteered their time.
“We had a great Pancake and Sausage day, the weather held out for us, I think everything stayed south, we had a little mist in the afternoon which is actually kind of nice for the people working outside so it wasn’t a bad day at all. We served a few hundred more people this year than we did last year which is always good. We had a lot of great volunteers that came and helped us out this year, including the Jacksonville High School football team, softball team, we had the Illinois School for the Deaf help us a bunch, we had Illinois College, and I know there’s a bunch of organizations I’m leaving out, but we had a bunch of people that helped us out, and we couldn’t have done it without them,” says McMurphy.
Given that this year’s Pancake and Sausage served several hundred more people than last year’s McMurphy says Kiwanis Club members put in a few more hours of work, something they were happy to do for everyone who came out to support the cause.
McMurphy explains that the Pancake and Sausage has been such a staple in the Jacksonville community for so many years because of what the money that’s raised is used for.
“That’s the great thing about Pancake and Sausage, it’s not like the money you put in goes overseas or anything, it all stays right here in Jacksonville and the surrounding area. Every dollar we raise stays local,” McMurphy says.
Aside from the Pancake and Sausage, the Jacksonville Kiwanis Club hosts a number of events throughout the year to help raise money that is then sent directly back into the local community to support kids-related activities.