Will County Gazette

The Joliet City Council allowed several organizations to present themselves, along with funds from fundraising and grant efforts, during a meeting held Feb. 21.

The representatives from the Joliet Fire Department thanked the council and the Joliet community for its support of the MDA Fill the Boot Campaign, a firefighter effort to support the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The Joliet Fire Department raised $15,000 for the organization.

The city also celebrated a portion of its community development program, which is part of its 2020-24 consolidated plan. The program has an annual action plan to give Community Development Block Grant funds to Joliet residents and small-business owners. 

In 2023, the city awarded $375,000 to Joliet constituents, which was split between three local associations. During the meeting, the council awarded $88,000 to the nonprofit workforce and job aid organization Holsten Human Capital Development, represented by Elizabeth Protich, to help them continue their work with client resources, case management and other key operations.

The Catholic Charities, Diocese of Joliet, represented by Amy Palumbo-Galarza, attended the meeting to celebrate receiving $185,000 for use on its Daybreak shelter, which is the only emergency shelter in the community. The funds will be spent on renovating and improving the bathroom facilities and repairing the roof.

"This one is also going to get presented to Liz at Holston Human Capital Development in River Walk Homes," Joliet Director of Economic Development Eva-Marie Tropper said as the presentations continued. "They do a number of different programs there. Last year, they helped over 10,000 unduplicated Joliet residents. This check is specifically from the COVID-19 dollars that the city received. And this is going to go to their holistic human health program that's going to help residents of Riverwalk and in the Joliet surrounding communities with healthy lifestyle choices, food preparation and all sorts of classes like that to build their health up."

The Joliet Latino Economic Development Association, represented by Diana Viveros, was also in attendance to celebrate being awarded $75,000. The JLEDA is a microenterprise and a new organization in the city, so the council is providing it with technological funding for social media, advertising, grant writing, budgeting and anything else the organization may need to continue to grow.