UPDATE Feb. 7 2014 / During the Exchange Club of Naperville Annual Allocations Luncheon held today in the Pavilion at Meson Sabika, a final tally of $605,155 was distributed among 52 nonprofit organizations and other initiatives. The funds were raised during the 2013 Ribfest held in Knoch Park in conjunction with Independence Day.
Original Post on Dec. 18, 2013 / The Naperville Exchange Club released news this week that they will distribute $548,000 to Naperville area nonprofits for their community projects to eliminate child abuse and domestic violence.
After reviewing grant applications for more than 90 projects, Allocations Committee Chair Diane Simmons and the Committee recently identified 52 groups to be included in this year’s allocation generated from the proceeds of Ribfest.
Dating back to the first Ribfest in 1989 and its many successes since, the Exchange Club will have donated more than $14 million to local agencies primarily to fight child abuse and domestic violence when these most recent allocations are distributed.
“We were glad we could raise this amount of money in such a difficult economy,” said 2013 Ribfest Chair Marty Walker.
Exchange Club President Dawn Portner echoed those comments.
“We are proud to help groups such as Project Help, Families Helping Families and the Edward Foundation, among the many charities in their service to our Naperville area community,” added Portner.
“Since 1987, the Exchange Club of Naperville has focused its community efforts on the elimination of child abuse and domestic violence. Each recipient aligns with our goals,” Simmons said. “As you look through the list of recipients that we typically support, you will see the faces of kids growing up in a safer environment because of these and other contributions.”
Announcements of individual awards will be made to the selected charities in January. An allocations luncheon to highlight all the recipients and thank sponsors is planned for February.
Ribfest is run by the 140-plus members of the Exchange Club in cooperation with its partners including the City of Naperville and Park District. More than 4,000 volunteers and hundreds of generous sponsors support the event run over the 4th of July weekend in Knoch Park.
Small sampling of worthy causes supported by Exchange Club of Naperville
Families Helping Families / FHF was founded in 1994 with the sole focus of helping homeless Mothers andtheir children in DuPage County. FHF helps find homes, education for Mothers and her children impacted by domestic violence and child abuse. During this time, each Mother works and goes to school since education is the best way to increase one’s value in the job market while children are provided with all the tools to go to school. For more info, visit www.famhelpingfam.org.
Edward Hospital Foundation and the Care Center of Naperville / The Exchange Club provides funding in support of the Care Center of Naperville to purchase equipment, provide doctor and staff training for the region’s best facility to evaluate children and adults with special needs who are victims of sexual abuse. They receive specialized care, counseling and comfort while they are examined to provide evidence for local law enforcement. The Edward Foundation provides funding for a wide range of programs for children such as the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, The Children’s Facial Center, the regions first Pediatric Emergency Department and the CARE Center program. For more info, visit www.edward.org/foundation.
Project H.E.L.P. / Project H.E.L.P. (Empowering Parents /Strengthening Families) provides volunteer mentoring support services to families under stress through the Parent Mentor Program. This program sponsored by the Exchange Club of Naperville, helps a family improve parenting skills and learn to manage their household in a positive and healthy manner. To learn more about this mentoring service, call (630) 357-5683 or visit www.projecthelpdupage.org.
CASA of DuPage County / CASA is an acronym for Court Appointed Special Advocates, helps provide each child with a safe, permanent, nurturing home. We train and support quality community advocates who voluntarily represent children in court. By bringing committed volunteer child advocates from the community into the child welfare system, CASA fills a vital service gap. We ensure that the best interests of each child are represented. Court personnel, social workers, and attorneys generally are assigned to work with many children and therefore must limit involvement with each child. For more info, visit www.dupagecasa.org.
City of Naperville’s Elderly Services Team / The City Of Naperville’s Elderly Services Team is a group of employees from various City departments and local senior service providers, including representatives from DuPage County Senior Services, the United States Postal Service and Naperville Township. The all-volunteer team works together to identify and address needs of the senior citizen community in Naperville. For more info, visit www.naperville.il.us.
DuPage PADS / Public Action to Deliver Shelter, Inc. MISSION: DuPage PADS is committed to end and prevent homelessness in DuPage County. PADS is committed to providing housing and supportive services for people who are homeless in a setting that encourages responsibility and offers the opportunity for independence and self-sufficiency. We work to educate the community and advocate against barriers that cause homelessness. Vital to this commitment is our collaboration with religious and community groups in DuPage County. For more info, visit www.dupagepads.org.
Naperville CARES / Naperville CARES (Community Acting in Response to Economic Stress) is a grassroots organization whose mission is to provide resources to people within the Naperville community who require assistance to prevent homelessness and attain self-sufficiency. Our goal is to deliver basic human service needs, including emergency financial assistance for housing, utilities, and medical care, and professional case management counseling to people in our community. For more info, visit www.napervillecares.org.
The Naperville Area Humane Society / Founded in 1979 to protect animals and prevent animal cruelty, the Naperville Area Humane Society provides animal sheltering and adoption, humane education programs including shelter tours, training for kids and families, a junior volunteer program, a summer day camp for children and after school programs. NAHS also provides a pet therapy program for seniors, a safe pets program for kids and a pet reading program in schools. For more info, visit www.napervillehumanesociety.org.
360 Youth Services / 360 Youth Services started in 1971 in Naperville to help the areas youth. Today, 360 provides counseling in a more formal professional setting and does it on a sliding scale fee basis. 360 has a group home for boys ages 13-18, transitional housing programs for both male and female young adults ages 18-21, and oversees the Naperville Operation Snowball program, and the Power of Choice campaign in both District 203 and 204 schools. 360 provides a series of programs focused on social competency skills and self-esteem for youth. For more information about 360 call (630) 961-2992 or visit www.360youthservices.org.
Our Children’s Homestead / Our Children’s Homestead is dedicated to assuring safe and secure homes to abused, neglected and troubled children. Our Children’s Homestead programs are tailored to the specific needs of our children. Programs include treatment foster care, international adoptions, respite services, afterschool program, domestic violence counseling and much more. For more info, visit www.ourchildrenshomestead.org.
Community Projects / In addition to funds raised for nonprofits, all the sponsors of Ribfest help Exchange Club support many other timely programs that benefit children and families such as Adopt-A-Family during the holidays. Other community projects include Americanism Projects, youth scholarships, safety and educational programs (Crime Prevention Calendar) for local schools, etc.
Exchange Club of Naperville
Chartered in 1987, the Exchange Club of Naperville today has 140 members dedicated to the elimination of child abuse and domestic violence.
The National Exchange Club, America’s Service Club, works with local clubs to make the communities they serve better places to live through programs of service in Americanism, Community Service, Youth Activities, and its national program—The Prevention of Child Abuse.
Membership in the Exchange Club of Naperville is open to individuals who want to make a difference in the community.To learn more about the Exchange Club or to join, visit www.exchangeclub.org.
Through the success of Ribfest, the Exchange Club has raised more than $14 million over the years to give to more than 50 local charities.
Ribfest 2014 is slated for four days, July 3-6, at Knoch Park in Naperville. To keep tabs on the event as its planning progresses, visit www.ribfest.net.
News release provided by the Exchange Club of Naperville
