JCH&L Auxiliary Salad Festival Successful

More than $1,100 was raised during the annual salad festival of the Jefferson Community Health & Life Auxiliary on May 9 in Fairbury.

A total of 155 people were served at the festival, according to Lana Likens, director of public relations, marketing and development at Jefferson Community Health & Life. The Salad Festival is the biggest fund-raiser for the JCH&L Auxiliary each year, and has a long tradition in Fairbury. The first festival was held in 1965.

“It takes a tremendous amount of community support to have a fund-raiser continue for nearly 60 years. We thank all of those who helped to make this event successful once again,” Likens said. “It is a fun community spring event that also helps to fund good work by the auxiliary.”

The salad festival itself takes much volunteer time and effort, Likens said. More than 35 individuals volunteer their time to help during the day and more than 80 items of food are donated. This year, seed money from a Thrivent Financial action team also helped to cover some of the expenses of the event.

Tables were decorated with plants from the Fairbury FFA greenhouse, and more than $100 was raised for the Fairbury FFA with the sales of the plants.

The auxiliary provides scholarships to students entering medical fields and provides Christmas gifts for nursing home residents at JCH&L Gardenside, in addition to providing volunteer support for JCH&L in a variety of ways.