People to be thankful for: Longtime Batavia volunteer gets things done

A young girl needs a dress for her high school prom, but can't afford it.

A youngster or adult could benefit greatly from having a bike, but can't afford one.

A family would love to enjoy the food and gifts so common during the holidays, but can't afford to do so.

A young student needs many things to help navigate school demands and overcome difficult situations at home - if that student has a home - but can't afford to do so.

These needs are plentiful throughout the Fox Valley, and Joanne Spitz has been on the front lines of addressing each one of them while providing support for various community agencies and organizations, or creating new ones, since moving to Batavia with her family 30 years ago.

The list of her volunteer efforts and accomplishments is staggering. Whether Spitz is doing good deeds for the CHIP IN Batavia program, the Prom Dress Giveaway, Adopt a Family for TriCity Family Services, the Bikes for Batavia program through the Batavia Bicycle Commission, or seeking funding for a historic monument through the Fox Valley Patriotic Organization, the result is consistent.

Those she works with know Spitz ranks among the area's best in terms of getting things done.

"Joanne is a doer," said Mary Kay Dowling, who organizes the Adopt a Family program at TriCity Family Services, which gathers donations at Thanksgiving and Christmas for agency clients in need.

"She is one who you ask to do things, and she doesn't just talk about it, she gets them done."

Dowling admits Spitz represents her "go-to person" for so many needs, including last-minute requests.

"Recently, I was short about 10 sponsors for families for the Thanksgiving program, and Joanne put a note on her personal Facebook page and, boom, she got me five or six sponsors right away."

That type of reliability has brought Spitz well-deserved attention in the past, being nominated for Batavia's Citizen of the Year in 2013 and earning TriCity Family Service's Barth Award in 2014 as the top volunteer of the year.

Spitz may be best known for her relentless efforts in helping Batavia students through the CHIP IN (Community Helpers Impacting People In Need), designed to provide any assistance possible to students who don't have homes or strong family support.

"I really like to do it (help others), especially with the things from CHIP IN, as I can see the difference it makes in what we can do to help students and their parents," she said. "We paid rent for 69 families during COVID, and I don't know what would have happened to them if we weren't able to do that."

Spitz is excited about the annual Prom Dress Giveaway she has developed, as it is taking place again in March 2022 after being sidelined by COVID for a couple years.

"We initially started the program for Batavia students, but it has now grown to include any girl from any school district anywhere," Spitz said. "We had girls come from as far away as Champaign, and

I think we gave away more than 300 dresses the last time we held it."

The event will take place at the Batavia Library, which has been helpful in storing dresses and setting aside a day for the event. But future construction in the library will cause Spitz and her helpers to seek another location after the 2022 event.

She continues to collect and give away bikes to kids and adults in need, working with Batavia Bicycle Commission since 2010 and current head Evan Thomas, who even once met a woman on the bike trail and learned she needed a bike - and the group delivered one.

Her more recent efforts have been with the Fox Valley Patriotic Organization and its efforts to have a Flag Day Monument placed in Batavia in honor of Batavia dentist Dr. Bernard Cigrand, who did the work to get Flag Day recognized nationally on June 14, starting in 1948, or about 17 years after his passing.

Spitz has helped organize and rally support for fundraisers for the monument cause, and the organization expects to break ground in Batavia on Flag Day, June 14, 2022, and unveil the monument on June 14, 2023.

Area residents and communities have benefited greatly from the work of Joanne Spitz and, like many great volunteers before her, she does it without looking for the spotlight to fall on her.

"I haven't had to worry about the financial end of things for myself, and my wonderful husband has let me do this type of volunteering," Spitz said. "It makes me very happy, and I get paid in other ways, in seeing the immediate difference it can make for families."

Mostly, Spitz feels she is simply carrying on the mantra of her family.

"My parents taught us all to give back when we can, and I guess that has been ingrained in me since I was young."