St. Patrick’s Day parade to benefit fishing club

A fishing club for children will be the beneficiary of the next St. Patrick’s Day parade.

The Crown Casting Club, which teaches Lawrence youngsters how to fish and gives them fishing equipment, will receive proceeds raised by the parade, organizers announced Wednesday morning.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” said Miles Schnaer, one of the club’s leaders. He said the proceeds — more than $38,000 last year — would help the club do its work for 10 more years.

“We’re really impacting the quality of these kids’ lives,” said Cecil Kingsley, a club leader. “We’re making these kids better community members.”

Since its inception 17 years ago, the parade has raised more than $250,000 for local children’s charities. Previous beneficiaries have included the Ballard Center, the Ryan Gray Playground for All Children, and the Boys & Girls Club.

Pictured above are participants from the 2003 parade.

Kansas University

Rock Chalk finalists to be announced Monday

Kansas University living organizations will learn Monday whether they’ve been selected to participate in next year’s Rock Chalk Revue.

The annual event — known as “In/Out” — is at 8 p.m. Monday at Liberty Hall, 642 Mass.

Each living organization vying for one of the five spots in the show has submitted a 20-minute script with songs, choreography, set design and character sketches. The organizations will perform a five-minute sketch for a panel of judges, followed by an interview.

The 2004 Rock Chalk Revue, which has a theme of “Close Call,” will be March 11-13 at the Lied Center.

Fund raising

Endowment to announce third-largest gift ever

Kansas University officials will gather today at the KU Medical Center to announce the third-largest gift in the history of the KU Endowment Association.

The gift, which will go to the Kansas Cancer Institute, will be announced at 4:30 p.m. at the School of Nursing Atrium. It is expected to put the “KU First: Invest in Excellence” campaign above its $500 million goal.

Community service

Donors encouraged to aid food drive

The third annual Community Food Drive starts Friday in Lawrence and will continue through Sunday.

Area residents are encouraged to buy $5 to $10 worth of prepackaged and nonperishable food items at Lawrence Hy-Vee Food & Drug stores. They can then take the food to a truck outside the Hy-Vees or to Crown Chevrolet/Toyota, 3400 Iowa.

The food will be taken to restock pantries at the Lawrence Interdenominational Nutrition Kitchen and ECKAN.