Judith Davidoff
Grillin' 4 Peace
"We just needed to do it," says Amy Cailles, right to left, with friends Ben Abernathy and Chris Gillette.
Amy Callies and Paul Hendrickson don’t know each other personally. But each braved the frigid cold to gather on the ice of Lake Wingra to commemorate an annual beloved event that was officially canceled this year due to COVID-19: Grillin’ 4 Peace, a fundraiser for Savory Sunday, a nonprofit group that serves fresh meals to hungry residents.
“We just needed to do it,” says Callies, a kindergarten teacher who showed up on Feb. 6 with her husband, Peter, some friends, a Weber grill, some brats and beer. “It’s such an event. And it’s for such a good cause.”
Last year, 200 to 300 people helped grill 1,200 pounds of donated meat that was then stored in a giant freezer at Community Action Coalition for South Central Wisconsin, and served to people in need over the course of the year, says Paul Hendrickson, who founded Savory Sunday in 2005. This year the Grillin’ 4 Peace fundraiser is mostly online but Hendrickson, like Callies, felt pulled to the frozen lake nevertheless.
Hendrickson says he wanted to show up in part to honor mentor Tom Barry, who started the fundraiser and died seven years ago. “It’s an honor and a way to show thanks for everything he has done and taught me,” says Hendrickson, a former special education teacher who is now in charge of community outreach at Mansfield Hall, a college support program. “To go out there no matter the conditions. Tom had a unique gift of [figuring out] how do you help people and make it fun. It’s just a beautiful thing.”
Hendrickson, who also brought a few friends with him, was not idle. He grilled about 100 pounds of meat donated by Trader Joe’s and Octopi. Savory Sunday meals have traditionally been served out of the basement of the state Capitol, but this year are being distributed at the Beacon day shelter on East Washington Avenue on Sundays, and, on Wednesdays, to people on State Street and around the Capitol Square.
Judith Davidoff
Paul Hendrickson, founder of Savory Sunday
Paul Hendrickson founded Savory Sunday in 2005. Grillin' 4 Peace, its major fundraiser, is held the Saturday before the Super Bowl.
Grillin’ 4 Peace is always held the Saturday before the Super Bowl. Usually, there are hundreds of people and about 70 grills set up in formation to form a peace sign. And while the main goal is to cook food for others, it is also a time for volunteers to share a meal themselves and have some fun. “Usually the UW band comes out there, and Bucky Badger, and it’s quite the celebration,” says Hendrickson.
Hendrickson says thousands of volunteers typically help cook and distribute food for Savory Sunday but this year, because of the pandemic, the work is being done by a core group of 10. Still there are volunteers at home who bake cookies for the group and the girls of Girl Scout Troop 2185 who make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
“There are a lot of people willing to give back,” says Hendrickson, “and it’s tough these days to find ways to give back safely.”
