ITW, United Way volunteers join forces to paint interior of new Will County Children’s Advocacy Center building

October 17

JOLIET – Volunteers from ITW Deltar Fasteners in Frankfort and United Way of Will County recently dipped brushes into buckets to put a fresh coat of paint on the walls of what will be the new offices for the Will County Children’s Advocacy Center.

ITW and United Way volunteers spent two days painting the interior walls of the building at 304 N. Scott Street. The building will become the new home for the Will County Children’s Advocacy Center when the staff moves in at the end of November. The Center’s current building will be demolished to make way for the new Will County Courthouse.

“This tremendous gesture by ITW and its volunteer workers put the Children’s Advocacy Center a major step closer to occupying a new building where the staff can pursue its mission of bringing hope, healing, and justice to sexually abused children,” said Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow, who chairs the Center’s Board of Directors. “Community partnerships with socially responsible corporations like ITW play an important role in enabling the Children’s Advocacy Center to conduct its important work on behalf of vulnerable children.”

The Will County Children’s Advocacy Center is funded in part by United Way of Will County. ITW decided to organize teams of volunteer painters after the Children’s Advocacy Center’s staff visited the company last month to encourage employees to continue their already generous participation in the annual United Way Campaign.

“It was great to be able to support and to help out locally. Community involvement is one of our core values, and it was a pleasure to serve the Children’s Advocacy Center,” said Joel R. Lee ITW United Way Division Chair.

State’s Attorney Glasgow talks with Joel Lee of ITW Deltar Fasteners during a break from painting.

Illinois Tool Works Inc. is a global Fortune 200 diversified manufacturing company that delivers specialized expertise, innovative solutions and value-added products to meet critical customer needs in a variety of industries. ITW Deltar Fasteners serves all the major Automotive OEMs and their tier suppliers with plastic fasteners.

Will County Executive Larry Walsh and the Will County Board agreed to purchase the building, which had housed the Will County Center for Community Concerns, and invited the Children’s Advocacy Center use the space. Two Will County Board members, Mike Fricilone and Herb Brooks, sit on the Center’s Board of Directors.

“By taking these important steps to ensure the Children’s Advocacy Center has a home, Larry Walsh and the County Board have displayed tremendous leadership and a deep commitment to protecting abused children,” said State’s Attorney Glasgow.

The Children’s Advocacy Center will occupy the building for the next several years while it embarks on a development campaign to raise funds to purchase or build a permanent facility. The Center’s goal is to develop a site that has a residential look that will be welcoming to sexually abused children and their families.

State’s Attorney Glasgow established the not-for-profit Will County Children’s Advocacy Center in 1995 to improve investigations of child sexual abuse cases. The center’s professionally trained and compassionate staff performs child-sensitive interviews when there are allegations of sexual or severe physical abuse. Children’s recorded statements have been used in the successful prosecution of thousands of predators. The caring team also has provided counseling, advocacy services, and medical referrals for nearly 10,000 sexually and severely abused children and their family members.