Suburbia's Got Talent: Thank you for Marklund

Bob Collins never saw himself as a person who could work with children, much less children with special needs. As a man who spent his adult life as a heavy equipment operator, he didn't think he fit the description for that role.

These days, however, Collins volunteers three days a week at the Marklund Children's Home, a nonprofit organization in Geneva and Bloomingdale specializing in the care of developmentally disabled children.

Volunteering at the Bloomingdale facility since early 2009, Collins recently expressed his appreciation to the Marklund employees for all they do by writing and producing a blues-styled song and music video called, "Marklund is the Place."

A guitarist who plays with friends in local bands, Collins, of Carol Stream, had no trouble recruiting musicians to help him out in this endeavor. After writing the lyrics to the song, he and bandmates - one of whom works as a nurse at Marklund - recorded the song and followed that up with the video. New to the world of video production, he received guidance from friends and taped the video at his church, Community Fellowship in West Chicago.