Clinic painting event in Palatine draws lots of volunteers

Take nearly 100 volunteers, 158 paint brushes and 37 gallons of paint, and it adds up to a complete makeover for a medical clinic located at the Palatine Opportunity Center.

HandsOn Suburban Chicago, a volunteer agency based in Arlington Heights, regularly promotes opportunities to help, in the Neighbor section of the Daily Herald.

Its posting about painting the Vista Health Center in Palatine ran Sept. 29 and drew 97 volunteers of all ages and from all walks of life.

Volunteers ranged from students from Sundling Junior High School in Palatine, to local business people involved with the Schaumburg Young Professionals, to lawyers from Bruning & Associates in Crystal Lake.

"We were very pleased by the turnout and the diversity in volunteers," said Patty Neuswanger, senior director of community investment for HandsOn. "We had church groups, high school students, a group of girls doing the event in conjunction with a birthday celebration and employees from companies who provided in-kind donations."

They tackled a worthy cause. According to Karen Baker, community services director for Northwest Community Healthcare, Vista Health Center is one of the busiest clinics in the Northwest suburbs.

Last year alone, she says, the clinic, part of the Cook County Health and Hospitals System that serves people without regard to their ability to pay, provided more than 20,000 patient visits for children and adults.

Northwest Community Healthcare supports the clinic by providing an annual stipend to help with staffing, office and medical supplies, as well as the clinic space.

"There isn't a lot of money left for nonessentials such as redecorating, so we are so appreciative that HandsOn stepped in to provide a much needed facelift for the clinic," Baker says. "The care provided by the physicians and staff at the Vista Health Center is of the highest quality - and now the clinic environment is too."

Working in teams, the group disbursed to repaint the clinic's waiting area and nine exam rooms, and also painted two original murals, designed to appeal to make the trip to the doctor less intimidating for children.

All this, and they were done by noon - in time to enjoy lunch and allow the center to reopen for business on Monday morning.

Officials with the Palatine Opportunity Center estimate the value of the volunteers working together saved more than $10,000.

"It was the largest group of volunteers that I have ever worked with here," says Kathy Millin, executive director of the Palatine Opportunity Center, "and they all were so excited to serve their community.

"Many gave an entire day of their precious weekend for this project," she added. "It was just so uplifting to witness their kindness and spirit."

The project fell during the 45th anniversary celebration of HandsOn, during which the organization offered 45 days of service, stretched out across different suburban communities. The hands-on observance, so to speak, ends next week.

HandsOn has operated under a number of different names over the years, but its mission has remained the same: to mobilize volunteers that help in developing vibrant and prosperous communities.

The volunteer network serves more than 200 nonprofit organizations and schools in 44 suburban communities.

Staff helps these agencies not only in volunteer recruitment, but in training workshops and marketing support. The agency also works with corporations interested in getting their employees involved in community engagement.

Last year, HandsOn managed 19 corporate volunteer events with more than 1,100 employees involved in service.