Published: November 04, 2009 06:16 pm      

Center marks milestone

Variety show part of celebration

DANVILLE — The Center for Children’s Services is embarking on its 115th year anniversary. To commemorate this milestone, the organization will celebrate Saturday in the Danville High School auditorium.

This celebration is open to everyone and admission is free, however, donations will be accepted. The celebration will consist of a variety show, which will begin at 7 p.m., and last until around 8:30 p.m. The Master of Ceremonies will be Darin Troglia, a Westville native.

Troglia said that “this show is a nice way to showcase the local talent.”

The center also received an award for having the No. 1 children’s service in the state of Illinois for its summer program. This program was nominated by the Vermillion County Workforce Assessment board. There were a total of 18 candidates.

Mimi Barnes designed the program and has written numerous grants to make this summer program become a reality.

“This is the most successful, and dynamic program they have designed,” Barnes said.

This summer, 51 students participated in the program from ages 14 to 22 years old. There were various different jobs the youth performed. One of the most visible is the Lunch on the Lawn program on the front lawn of the Center for Children Services on Logan Avenue. They served about 200 lunches per day from July 15 through July 31. The participants prepared the food, served as cashier and provided customer service. Daily business meetings also were conducted to discuss the activities and functions of running a restaurant.

The proceeds that were made from the café were returned to the GRADS/GED program to provide additional participant services.

Another group helped build a house with Habitat for Humanity. There also was a supervised land-scaping crew that went to places such as the Salvation Army and the Westville Library.

Lastly, the Local 151 Plumbers and Steamfitters chapter conducted a six-week apprenticeship pro-gram for eight youth. They were taught basic trade skills and received hands-on training in welding, after which they were able to receive an OSHA 10 certificate for welding. With their training, the participants made a huge barbecue grill, which they call the “Grillzilla.”

The Center for Children’s Services was founded in 1894 and started out as an orphanage. In the 1970s, it had moved away from the orphanage and worked in the mental health services for children and also provided family support. The center is funded mostly by various departments of Illinois government. It receives some federal funding through its training programs and some local funding.

Some of the children are now renovating the park house the center owns. They have put a new roof own, put in a new kitchen, painted both inside and outside of the house. Once the renovations are com-plete, they plan to sell the house, with the proceeds going to train the youth year around.

There are an array of youth who seek the support from the center. Dr. Ed Michaels explained most of the programs the center offers are for both children and families. Some of these programs deal with mental health issues, teen pregnancy, high school dropouts, kids that are involved with the juvenile court system and many more.

The center also is sought out by the juvenile court system to perform evaluations on various cases and provide its input on the situation.

Most of these programs are free to the family. However, there are some that are not. Payments on these programs are decided upon on how much the family can afford.

FYI

If you or someone you know is interested in participating in the variety show, please contact Darin Troglia at 267-9979. To find out more about the Center for Children’s Services, please contact 446-1300.