The 4th Annual “Get Behind the Vest” pancake breakfast was held Sunday, and over 10,000 pancakes were handed out to people hungry to help a great cause.
“(They’re) delicious. Better than making breakfast at home,” one supporter said.
The breakfast is the brainchild of 19th Ward Alderman Matt O’Shea, who launched the event to help purchase bulletproof vests for police officers in the city.
Officer Alex Lagunas knows just how important it is to purchase those vests, as his life was saved by one during his career.
“I was shot in the chest, and my body armor took the impact,” he said.
The Chicago Police Memorial Foundation purchases vests with donations from events like the pancake breakfast.
The 10,000 pancakes that were served Sunday were all donated by the Original Pancake House in Beverly.
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“We just feel like it’s a fantastic cause,” owner Julie Harrigan said. “We’ve been in Beverly 52 years, and it’s an opportunity to give to an awesome cause.”
Among those indulging in the feast was Chicago Fire actor Dave Eigenberg.
“I came down here to support Chicago’s finest,” he said.
The breakfast caps off a difficult week for Chicago’s police officers, as they said goodbye to Commander Paul Bauer, who was shot to death in the line of duty.
“Paul was a wonderful man. A great father, a great husband, and a policeman’s policeman,” Frank Gross of the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation said.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who spoke at Commander Bauer’s funeral Saturday, was also on hand at the event, saying that the breakfast is a reminder of what makes Chicago the city that it is.
“What you see behind us is what makes Chicago strong,” he said.
Over the last three years, the event has raised $80,000 for the foundation’s “Get Behind the Vest” program.
