Thing 123 Foundation: Community Challenge Grant

Thing 123 Foundation: Community Challenge Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Thing 123 Foundation
Last Updated: March 22, 2026

Summary

The Thing 123 Foundation's Community Challenge Grant aims to combat hunger in Elmhurst and surrounding areas by matching donations to build a new Community Food Pantry facility. Established in 1999, the Foundation supports organizations dedicated to enhancing children's lives. This grant will match one dollar for every two dollars donated, up to $100,000, to empower local businesses and community leaders in the fight against food insecurity affecting families and individuals in need.

Overview

About Us The Thing 1∙2∙3 Foundation is a Private Foundation focused on meeting the needs of children. Founded in 1999 by Jim and Nancy Ruprecht, the name was inspired by Dr. Suess’ book, The Cat In the Hat. Their children quickly identified with the Cat’s two helpers, Thing 1 and Thing 2. When the Ruprechts’ started the Foundation focused on helping children, the name was a natural way to reflect their love for their children and a desire to help other children. Mission The Mission of the Thing 123 Foundation is to provide support and resources to people and organizations on the front line providing services and programs to improve and enhance children’s lives. Grant Program The Thing 123 Foundation has partnered with the Elmhurst-Community Challenge Grant. The goal of this grant program is to encourage business and community leaders within Elmhurst and the other seven communities served by the pantry to actively join in the fight against hunger affecting our neighbors. This Grant will match donations made by Business, and Community organizations toward helping the EYFP build a new Community Food Pantry facility. The Foundation will match one dollar for every two dollars donated, with a maximum of $100,000 donated by the Foundation through this grant. Why? Hunger is a silent epidemic that affects too many people in our community - children, working parents and seniors. Hunger and the availability of nutritious food is a serious problem in our communities, whether we want to recognize it or not. You know someone who is hungry! Too many times our neighbors have to choose between food and gas, rent and medicine, with the result being they go hungry each day. For over 30 years, the Elmhurst-Yorkfield Food Pantry has been committed to helping people facing these choices, and continues to grow each year to meet the challenges of those in need. Hunger is not just a Chicago problem, or an inner city problem, or a rural problem. Talking with community leaders, school administrators, and church leaders, they are all keenly aware of that hunger is a problem in Elmhurst and the broader community.   Since 1999, the number of people living in poverty in the communities served by the Northern Illinois Food Banks has increased more than 50% to over 300,000 people, or 1 in 10 people in our communities.   The demand for EYFP’s services continues to grow. In just a little more than four years the number of clients served per month grew from 80 to 389.  Hunger affects all parts of our community, the elderly, children, and families.  The Pantry provides over 200,000 meals annually to our neighbors in Elmhurst and seven surrounding communities: Addison, Bensenville, Berkeley, Hillside, Lombard, and Oak Brook. As one of the largest hunger relief organizations in Eastern DuPage County, the Elmhurst-Yorkfield Food Pantry has grown from a faith-based mission of the Yorkfield Presbyterian Church to an independent, community-based food pantry with a broad reach in the communities it serves. Even with the EYFP’s hard work, the present demands already exceed the help that can be provided through its current facility.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Grants are awarded to United States or U.S. based international organizations in adherence to the mission of the Thing 123 Foundation and its founding documents.