Palatine center's new family lab offers crafts, tutoring

At the Palatine Opportunity Center, they call their newest resource room the Family Learning Lab.

What used to be a recreational area for karate and other activities now hosts adult tutoring in the mornings and literacy and parenting classes at night.

During the afternoons, mothers and their small children spend quality time together learning crafts - from crocheting and jewelry making to scrapbooking - all led by volunteers in the nurturing surroundings of the center.

Later this month, officials from Palatine Schaumburg Township High School District 211 will install a bank of computers for families to use together.

"It's a place where families can come together with their children to learn," said Kathy Millin, Palatine Opportunity Center director.

Last month the lab drew 287 visitors, and its directors expect that number to grow - much like the Palatine Opportunity Center itself. Next month the center celebrates its 10th anniversary of serving residents in the northeast quadrant of Palatine. Last year alone it served more than 13,000 individuals.

Maria Anguinano of Palatine is one of them. The mother of three first came to the center eight years ago for English as a Second Language classes.

Soon her children attended preschool there, allowing her to add adult employment training and computer classes. She hopes to begin the General Education Development (GED) classes next.

"I love it here. There are so many things to do and share with other people," said Anguinano, a native of Mexico. "The people here have offered me a lot of help, too."

The Palatine Opportunity Center is at 1585 N. Rand Road and serves as a hub of medical and social service agencies for low-income residents in the area.

"The original partners are still here," says the Rev. Seth Moland-Kovash, president of the board and pastor of All Saints Lutheran Church in Palatine.

Founding agencies include the village of Palatine, Palatine Township, Palatine Park District, Palatine Public Library, Harper College, Northwest Community Hospital, Palatine Schaumburg Township High School District 211, Palatine Elementary District 15 and the Bridge Youth & Family Services.

Together they also offer health care, preschool classes and after-school programs, and adult computer classes.

"Every one of these agencies said they would do their part in helping to meet the needs of families in this area," Moland-Kovash said. "They brought the expertise, manpower and funding to make that happen.

"That's why I got involved," he adds, "because of that spirit of collaboration."

Kris Howard of Barrington served on the center's original board of directors and remains on the board. When asked if the center's creators ever envisioned serving that many people, she laughed.

"No way," said Howard, a Harper College trustee, former Palatine banker and administrator with the Girl Scouts organization. "We knew there were needs to be met, but we had no idea how large the demand was."

Howard was among the original organizers who worked to bring the agencies together. They responded to the growing number of families moving into the Baldwin Greens apartment complex without access to basic health care and social service needs.

While they originally offered the Edgebrook Community Center at the apartment complex itself, they soon realized they needed more space.

When a mortgage lender vacated a building near the apartments, at Rand and Dundee roads, Northwest Community Hospital officials purchased it and agreed to share the center with the other community groups.

"That's what's so great about it; these groups and organizations recognized the need and were willing to work together," Howard said.

While the main tenants have remained the same over the years, new agencies come on site to help fill evolving needs.

This month, Women In Need Growing Stronger (WINGS) will open an office with a counselor trained to help victims of domestic abuse as well as to recruit volunteers to help get the word out about their services.

Likewise, Illinois WorkNet will come once a week to connect job seekers with a broad range of employment services.

Programs change too, based on input from regular patrons. Take the YMCA's latest class. Based on feedback from families who wanted to promote fitness, the agency offered to start yoga classes.

However, women at the center had their own ideas. They countered with Zumba Fitness.

"We want to move," says Anguinano. "We want to dance."