During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dan Gibbons got to thinking about how there were children learning from home who might not be getting the breakfast or lunch they would have received while at school.
The founder of the Dan Gibbons Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, Gibbons recalled how he was talking with his executive assistant, Christine Fogarty, about that grim reality, and decided, “Let’s do something mid-year for our four Elmhurst [nonprofit] agencies,” who could in turn assist those children “whenever the kids are off school.”
“We decided we would do this [Twilight Trot],” he continued, although “It’s taken us a couple of years to get it off the ground.”
The inaugural Twilight Trot 5K fundraiser on May 31 will be held on the original Turkey Trot course, starting at Arlington Avenue and South Street and going to the flagpole at Taft Avenue in Berkeley, then back to Elmhurst along the Illinois Prairie Path and finishing at the fountain. Proceeds will benefit four Elmhurst nonprofit agencies.
From Turkey to Twilight
Gibbons is no stranger, though, to organizing fundraisers, because he also started the Dan Gibbons Turkey Trot 5K 41 years ago, which was first held on Nov. 22, 1984, donating over $4 million over the years.
As he tells it, one night in 1983, he was listening to late-night WGN talk show host Eddie Schwartz, who mentioned a Good Neighbor Food Drive in the city—“I thought to myself, I could volunteer next year or help in some way to help Eddie raise some money.”
Thus, the inaugural Dan Gibbons Turkey Trot was born, he said, and 74 people participated, raising a net of $520 that was donated toward the food drive—which was then passed on to the Chicago Anti Hunger Federation.
“I got educated on the hunger problem in the metropolitan area” because of Schwartz, Gibbons said, but he thought his fundraiser would be a one-and-done event.
“That second event was never going to happen,” he continued, in part because he had neither seed money nor sponsors to make it work.
However, serendipity stepped in when, one night, “A friend of mine asked, ‘Are you going to do it again?’”
Gibbons said it was unlikely, but his friend, Sgt. Bob Jones from the Elmhurst Police Department, became “our very first sponsor,” managed to get him $250 and two other sponsors, so the second annual Turkey Trot 5K was on!
For the first 15 years, the beneficiary of the fundraiser was the Chicago Anti Hunger Federation, but after its doors closed, Gibbons turned his attention to DuPage County.
“We started to realize there was a hunger situation in DuPage County,” he lamented, adding, “It kind of blew my mind.”
“Mary Keating, director of Community Services for DuPage County, helped us identify food banks and agencies to help our neighbors in need,” he related.
Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, “We kept it alive,” Gibbons said, with a virtual Turkey Trot.
However, “There were actually people walking it on their own,” he recalled with gratitude.
The original course was held in the southern part of Elmhurst, and 13 years ago it shifted north to downtown Elmhurst, Gibbons pointed out.
From 74 participants to now between 7,000 and 8,000 participants, he said the Turkey Trot 5K has had somewhat of a domino effect in attracting new participants.
As a lifelong Elmhurst resident, “This is a hometown thing for me,” Gibbons said, thinking now about how some of the children might not have enough food to eat during the months when school is out.
He said the recipients of the proceeds will be the Elmhurst Walk-In Assistance Network, the United Community Concerns Association, the Immaculate Conception Food Pantry and the Elmhurst/Yorkfield Food Pantry.
The event will be held on the original Turkey Trot course, starting at Arlington Avenue and South Street and going to the flagpole at Taft Avenue in Berkeley, then back to Elmhurst along the Illinois Prairie Path and finishing at the fountain. (See graphic).
The Twilight Trot begins at 6:30 p.m. Online registration, which is $35, is due by May 22 (DanGibbonsTwilightTrot.org) to guarantee a T-shirt. Walk-in registration and packet pickup are on May 28 from 4-8 p.m. at the Elmhurst Knights of Columbus, 537 S. York St. T-shirts will be limited at walk-in registration.
Gibbons said he wants the event to put the “fun” in Fun Run and quipped, “Nobody’s trying to qualify for [the] Boston [Marathon].”
“Families can come. Bring your kids,” he added.
Recalling a cold night in December when he heard a radio host talk about a food drive, “I believe I was supposed to be listening to it that night,” Gibbons, a man of faith, commented. And then, being in the right place at the right time when his friend urged him to hold a second Turkey Trot also is etched in his mind.
“I’ve been blessed” with wonderful volunteers, Gibbons said. “We want to make sure we help stock the pantries.”
“This is why we do what we do [and] educating myself about the hunger problem just became a passion for me.”
For more information, visit dangibbonstwilighttrot.org.