Education Center honors volunteers who help kids

At this year’s Kids’ Best Friend Awards Benefit, the spotlight will shine on area residents who brighten the lives of homeless children and people with disabilities.

In addition, The Education Center will present Make a Difference Awards to two individuals who have affected the lives of children through the court system and church ministries.

The awards will be presented at The Education Center’s annual Kids’ Best Friend Benefit and Awards Dinner Friday, Nov. 16, in the Lisle/Naperville Hilton Grand Ballroom, Naperville and Warrenville roads.

This year’s awards and winners are:

Ÿ Kids’ Best Friend Award: Diane Nilan, founder and president of HEAR US;

Ÿ Community Leader Award: Vicky Joseph, founder and president of Families Helping Families;

Ÿ Business Leader Award: Greg Bizzaro, CEO of Jaffe Films and co-founder of Special Talents America;

Ÿ Making a Difference Award: Robert J. Anderson, 18th Judicial Circuit Court judge; and

Ÿ Making a Difference Award: Janice Rubin, director of Family Life-Student Ministries at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and member of the Collaborative Youth Team.

The Education Center, located in Naperville, is a children’s organization that for more than 30 years has been helping kids succeed in school and in life. With a 97 percent success rate of graduating students who are diagnosed as learning disabled and underachievers, The Education Center offers families a place of hope and help.

The annual Kids’ Best Friend benefit directly supports the programs of The Education Center.

Tickets to the benefit are $125 and include a cocktail reception, dinner and dancing. The reception begins at 5:30 p.m. For details about The Education Center or to purchase tickets, call (630) 420-7807 or visit TheEducationCenter.org.

Here’s a closer look at the award recipients:

Ÿ Diane Nilan long has been an advocate for children and families, especially those who are homeless. Her life’s work to help homeless children attend school and to end homelessness across the country has had a major impact on local, state and federal laws and has affected thousands of families.

Ÿ Eighteen years ago, Vicky Joseph made the heartfelt decision to do something to make a difference in the lives of others, just as a stranger had made a difference in the life of her mother by hiding her from the Nazis during World War II.

Joseph wanted to focus on helping a single mother in need. She reached out to Bridge Communities, an organization that provides transitional housing to needy families, and said she wanted to adopt a family and help pay their rent for a year. She did some fundraising among her neighbors, friends and several local groups, and their generosity led her to realize she could help more than one family. She decided to create Families Helping Families.

The group provides mentoring and financial support to homeless families as they gain financial literacy and break the cycle of poverty for their children.

Ÿ Greg Bizzaro, owner of Jaffe Films in Lisle, is being recognized for his dedicated and creative work with people with disabilities, including two unique programs: Video Ventures and Special Talents America.

For the past 21 years, Bizzaro has volunteered his time to teach Video Ventures, a television production class for people with disabilities sponsored by the Western DuPage Special Recreation Association. In the class, participants are taught how to operate video and still cameras, audio boards, microphones and other equipment.

Bizzaro also has worked professionally with Special Olympics for a number of years, filming athletic events and traveling to China, Japan, the Colorado Rockies, Washington, D.C., and other locations to capture footage of Team USA competing at the Special Olympics World Games and to produce videos for the organization.

It was because of his work with WDSRA and Special Olympics that Bizzaro came up with a dramatic and creative concept: Special Talents America, a talent contest for people with disabilities.

Ÿ Circuit Court Judge Robert J. Anderson is being honored for his work on behalf of children and families.

Anderson serves as the supervising judge of the DuPage Juvenile Courts and is chairman of the DuPage County Family Violence Coordinating Council. He is co-chair of the Special Illinois Supreme Court Committee on Child Custody and is a member of the Illinois Supreme Court Committee on Judicial Education. Anderson also teaches family law at Loyola University of Chicago School of Law.

Anderson has been honored for his work on domestic violence by Family Shelter of DuPage, for his service to children by the DuPage County Children’s Center, and as a pioneer in delinquency prevention by the DuPage Prevention Partnership.

Ÿ As part of her dedicated work at Good Shepherd Church, through her leadership role with the Collaborative Youth Team, and as an author of two parenting books, Janice Rubin has made a difference in the lives of countless children.

At Good Shepherd, a church of about 4,000 people in Naperville, Rubin works with youth from sixth grade through college. She has a staff of four people on her team, and together they coordinate innovative programming that many other churches have asked them to share.

Rubin has developed several ministries that encourage youth to connect with others and to serve together. Guided by her religious faith, Rubin explained, “I believe every person was born with talents, passions and gifts and that each person can make a contribution because their life has meaning and purpose.”

If you go

What: Kids’ Best Friend Awards Benefit

When: 5:30 p.m. Nov. 16

Where: Lisle/Naperville Hilton, Naperville and Warrenville roads, Lisle

Cost: $125 per person

Info: (630) 420-7807 or theeducationcenter.org