ALTON - Midwest Members Credit Union and the Crisis Food Center in Alton always do a large amount for the community, and on Saturday, March 30, 2024, prior to Easter Sunday, the two partners again provided free hams and cheer to many families.
Midwest Members and Crisis Food Center went 50-50 on the hams and Crisis Food Center donated side items to go along with the hams.
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The drive-through-only giveaway started at 1 p.m. on Saturday and there was a line when it started that wrapped more than a block back. It was a first-come, first-serve basis for the distribution while supplies were available.
The Midwest Members group turned out with a large group to distribute the hams. Derrick Richardson, a Crisis Food Center Board member, and former MMCU board member, was also present with a broad smile as he handed out hams to those who made the trek through the line. The ham giveaway means a lot to Richardson and is one of his annual charitable giving efforts.
Lou Bicanic is the president and CEO of Midwest Members Credit Union.
He said on Saturday: "This is a wonderful event. We have about 90 hams this year and we love doing it and the staff shows up in force. Tiffany James organizes it and does a great job. This is the best turnout we have for any of our events and this is for such a great cause."
Richardson has been involved with the ham giveaway for several years.
"The Midwest Members employees do such a good job with it we had over 20 of their employees here and we just have a blast with it," he said. "They do such a good job with the event."
James, a spokesperson for the event, said: "The employees love this and thrive on this just to get out in the community and give back. We try to get out as much as we can. We serve 10 counties and we are always trying to put ourselves back into those counties."
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