ROCHELLE — On Tuesday, March 19 at the Rochelle Rotary Club’s weekly meeting, four area nonprofits accepted $11,250 checks from proceeds from the recent From the Heart Gala that raised $90,000.  

Checks were accepted by representatives from the Rochelle Area Community Foundation, Pegasus Special Riders, The Hub City Senior Center, and HOPE of Ogle County. Representatives from the Rochelle Christian Food Pantry, Shining Star Children’s Advocacy Center, CASA and Foundation for Focus House will accept checks at the March 26 Rotary meeting. From the Heart raises money from its annual gala and cash calendar sales and donates the proceeds equally to the eight nonprofits.

From the Heart Founder and President Dave Eckhardt thanked the organization’s volunteers and the City of Rochelle and said while this year’s total gala amount of $90,000 was a record, From the Heart hopes to break it and hit the $100,000 mark next year.

“This is my favorite day of the year, being able to hand out money,” Eckhardt said. “This year we made it to $90,000. What makes that even more amazing is, going into the event we were $10,000 behind last year in calendar sales. So we made up that $10,000 the night of the event plus $10,000 to get us to where we ended up. Our goal for next year is $100,000. So we have a lot of work to do. We have to really step it up and make that happen. We're going to do our best.”

RACF provides support to area nonprofits through a competitive grant process yearly. It also works with donors from every walk of life from small donations to big donations and everything in between. In recent years, RACF reached $1 million in support for local nonprofits since its inception.

“Thank you so much,” RACF Executive Director Emily Anaya said. “It's been great to partner with so many different entities here in Rochelle. I think this year especially you could really feel that it was giving from the heart. People were there and celebrating everything that our event has encompassed and I think it had a really strong feel this year. We're just appreciative of this and we appreciate From the Heart and the city and everybody who donated. We hope to see you next year.”

Pegasus Special Riders provides therapeutic horseback riding experiences for those who are physically and mentally challenged. Riding helps with cognitive balance and volunteers and instructors assist in the lessons. The organization recently repaired severe wind damage that its facility suffered. 

“We can't tell you guys how much we appreciate all of your hard work on this event,” Pegasus Special Riders Treasurer Nancy Reed said. “I'm sure everyone here participated in the event in some way or another. Thank you so much. It goes a long way.”

The Hub City Senior Center provides activities, transportation and nutrition for older adults.

“I just want to thank you all so much,” HCSC Executive Director Diana King said. “This was my third year participating in From the Heart. I remember the first year I participated I was kind of lost and everybody said, 'Just wait, it's amazing.' And I thought this year was the best. It just had a different feel and it was a lot of fun. Thank you everybody.”

HOPE of Ogle County is the domestic violence agency and shelter that services Ogle County and northeast Lee County. It offers emergency shelter services, counseling services including individual counseling for children, teens and adults, has multiple locations in Ogle County to provide convenient locations for those in need of service, and has a court advocacy program to help people who are interested in or would like an order of protection.

“Thank you to those that have pounded the pavement with calendars this year and came to the event and volunteered for those shifts,” HOPE of Ogle County Executive Director Ruth Carter said. “That's huge to get everything moving and flowing. Thank you all for what you do.”