LEAF Volunteer Appreciation

The Lyons Emergency and Assistance Fund (LEAF) held its Donor Appreciation Night this past Thursday. The program, funded by the Lyons Community Foundation (LCF), recognized its volunteers at the Lyons Valley Village Community Room.

The LCF is the overall funding body for several community programs. By far, the largest donation goes to LEAF, which administers four programs.

Volunteers with the four programs were honored and given plaques and roses for their efforts. The largest of the programs is the Community Food Pantry, which reported receiving 47,910 pounds of food from local food banks, supermarkets, and individual donors in 2019. The program reached 88 households during the year.

Meals on Wheels served 22 unique clients with 3,169 meals. That was a 37% increase over the previous year. The volunteers don’t just deliver hot meals, but also provide companionship to recipients who are unable to get out of their homes.

Another of LEAF’s programs is the Basic Needs and Resource Matching program. Some of this program is giving clients money to help with emergencies such as a car repair or rental assistance. Forty-five households were served with an average cash grant of $203. This program also made 84 referrals to partner agencies.

LEAF’s newest program is Mental Wellness & Addiction Recovery. To date, the program has helped 13 clients with 45 individual counseling sessions and 42 group sessions.

LEAF encourages volunteers. There are over 100 volunteers across the various programs. If you would like to learn about the programs or volunteer, contact executive director Lory Barton at lory@leaflyons.org.