Where Cash From Turkey Trot In Elmhurst Goes

ELMHURST, IL – Checking out the nonprofit tax forms, one may wonder why more of the money from the annual Dan Gibbons Turkey Trot does not go to charities.

Moreover, a look at the forms indicates Gibbons himself gets $84,000 in compensation from the Elmhurst-based Dan Gibbons Turkey Trot Foundation.

The turkey trot is a 5K race held every year on Thanksgiving in Elmhurst, attracting thousands of runners and walkers.

Last week, Patch spoke with Gibbons and Mark Daniel, a local lawyer who helps the foundation.

About five years ago, they said, the foundation board hired Gibbons as the full-time head of Wheaton-based Cafe Liberty, an offshoot of the foundation.

Cafe Liberty helps unemployed and underemployed veterans enter the culinary field and provide catering services.

Gibbons' duties also include preparing for the annual turkey trot, more so in the weeks leading up to it.

"I spend much of my day directing Cafe Liberty," Gibbons said.

He also said a race such as a turkey trot has many expenses, including paying police and putting up barricades, among other things. But what's left goes to charities, Gibbons and Daniel said.

In 2017 and 2018, annual grants to charities amounted to about $170,000, according to the foundation's tax forms. The grants totaled $110,000 in 2019 and dropped to $30,000 in 2020, the first pandemic year.

The foundation also makes money through an annual golf outing and Cafe Liberty's catering service.

The first Dan Gibbons Turkey Trot was held on Thanksgiving in 1984. Gibbons wanted to use the proceeds to help those going hungry.

According to its website, the numbers that the runners wore were handmade and Gibbons used his car's odometer to map out the course. The "5K" course turned out to be about 4.2K.

Just 74 people took part, raising $520.

"The first 20 years, I would write checks to the beneficiaries and leave a few hundred in the account for the next year. We can't do that now," Gibbons said in the interview. "What if the pandemic comes back? We need to survive and continue to help food pantries."

The race now attracts more than 7,000 participants. Another 1,000 jump in without paying, which Gibbons acknowledged angered him, especially since the race is a good cause.

People from 30 states and up to 300 Illinois towns take part. Many are in the area for Thanksgiving and decide to join loved ones in the race.

Here are the nonprofit groups to which the Dan Gibbons Turkey Trot plans to contribute this year:

• Loaves and Fishes Community Services
• United Community Concerns Association
• Catholic Charities-DuPage County
• West Suburban Community Pantry
• People's Resource Center
• DuPage PADS
• Elmhurst Walk-in Assistance Network
• Elmhurst-Yorkfield Food Pantry
• York Township Pantry
• IC Food Pantry

Race participants can register online.