Sauk Valley Chicken Lovers Raise $13,020 for Candlelight Inn Promotion
Contact: Joan Hermes
Candlelight Inn chicken aficionados got their taste buds tickled and gave a boost to a local charity, all at the same time, during the month of February. A total of $13,020 was presented to the CGH Health Foundation this past week.
The popular restaurant pledged $1 for every item featuring chicken purchased during February, with all proceeds going to the Foundation. Both the Sterling and Rock Falls Candlelight restaurants took part in the fundraiser. The Foundation funds 18 wellness programs and healthcare services initiatives in the five-county service area of CGH Medical Center.
“We are delighted at the goodwill shown by the folks at Candlelight as well as the amazing support from their customers,” said Joan Hermes, executive director of the Foundation. “This year especially we have funded numerous COVID-19 related projects that were not in our budget, so this gift makes a huge difference in our ability to make life easier for kids and adults living in the Sauk Valley.”
Hermes said pulse oximeters have been purchased to give to COVID-19 patients who are discharged from the hospital. “This handy tool tracks their oxygen levels and pulse rates when they go home. Many times, individuals don’t realize how close to crisis they might be with reduced lung capacity from the virus.”
Owner Matt Prescott said, “We were happy to work with CGH Health Foundation on this project, involving our customers and benefitting our community.”
The Foundation also sponsors rides to get patients to and from hospital and clinic appointments, as well as transportation to out-of-town specialists; a B-CALM help phone line for youth and families suffering from the pandemic; pediatric mental health services in area schools; medication assistance for patients; and comfort bags and meals during treatment for chemotherapy patients, to name just a few projects.
The Candlelight Inn began in 1967 in downtown Sterling. Since 1989, the popular restaurant has been headquartered in a renovated barn at the north end of Sterling. Now there are also Candlelight Inns in Rock Falls and Clinton, Iowa, as well as sister locations at Palmyra Pub & Eatery and Brandywine Event Center, Dixon; Brink’s, Sterling; Corner Tap and McCormick Event Center, Rock Falls; and Barnacopia, Polo.