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Community Corner

Marines Serve at Colonial Cafe on Veterans Day to Kick Off Toy Drive

U.S Marines will visit all seven area locations from 5-7 p.m. this Friday.

Dozens of paper cutout trains are already posted on the cashier’s counter at in Algonquin. Each one represents a patron’s monetary donation for Toys for Tots, as November marks the annual start of the .

To raise awareness for the effort, Colonial Café is welcoming U.S. Marines to all seven of its area locations from 5 – 7 p.m. on Veterans Day, Friday, November 11.  

“We as a company are very involved with The Salvation Army,” said Joe Pepich, general  manager of Colonial Café & Ice Cream in Algonquin. “The U.S. Marines are obviously involved with Toys for Tots so this is our way of raising awareness for the collection.”

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One active service and one retired U.S. Marine will help staff serve customers during the Veteran’s Day event, and the regular menu will be featured. Those who bring in a new toy for the collection will receive a dollar off their check, Pepich said. Toy donations will be collected on site at all Colonial Café & Ice Cream collections through December 14, and monetary contributions will be accepted through December 24.

Coordinating the U.S. Marine participation for the restaurants is Fred Zimmermann, commandant of Marine Corps League in Elgin. Zimmerman, a Vietnam veteran, said the league’s goal is to help children whose parents are serving overseas and facing financial hardships. He has volunteered with Toys for Tots for several years and said in 2010, the league collected more than 3,000 toys. The effort, he added, is a community endeavor.

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“We take all the toys we get and take them to the Elgin Township office, and  they count them before the Hemmens Cultural Arts Center in Elgin picks them up a week before Christmas,” Zimmermann said. “Their staff sorts them by age and gender and then they have a big function when they give them to the kids.”

Zimmermann said his volunteer commitment is important to him because he receives Veteran’s disability assistance from the government.

“This is my way of giving back,” he said.

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