‘Tis the season to raise money for good causes — and here are a couple of worthy November events:
* Chicago native and New York Mets All-Star outfielder Curtis Granderson and grocery kingpin Bob Mariano are teaming up to help the Greater Chicago Food Depository. As part of Curtis’ “Grand Giving Campaign,” all the Mariano’s stores will give customers the opportunity to add a $1, $2 or $5 donation to their grocery bills at checkout throughout the month of November.
On Wednesday, Granderson will host the second annual Grand Giving fundraiser at Moe’s Cantina, 155 W. Kinzie in River North, where he will be joined by fellow athletes, special guests and an expected 1,000 Chicagoans.
For more information: thegrandkidsfoundation.org.
* Later in the month, the Bears’ Brandon Marshall and Harry Caray’s will host an early Thanksgiving dinner for about 100 children from the two campuses of Maryville Academy, the residential childcare facilities that serve more than 1,800 children annually. The dinner will be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 24, at the Chicago Sports Museum and Harry Caray’s 7th Inning Stretch at Water Tower Place. The evening will include dinner, plus holiday gifts for the children, who will be able to enjoy the interactive games and exhibits in the museum adjacent to the restaurant on the shopping mall’s seventh level.
For those wishing to donate new, unwrapped holiday gifts (mostly for teenagers), they can be dropped off at Harry Caray’s in Chicago, Rosemont or Lombard through Nov. 19.