For the second year, Tom and Linda Wilhelm of Allegra Print & Imaging are helping area non-profits  leave their mark on the community. On Jan. 14, the couple hosted the second Allegra FootPRINT Fund awards dinner, doling out $6,000 in assistance to help local organizations.

The awards will help not-for-profit groups purchase graphic designs and printed marketing materials, from posters to newsletters, invitations and more, that will allow them to spread the word about their worthy causes. The Wilhelms launched the program last year as a way to give back, Linda said.

“We love what our non-profits do for the community,” she said.

Last year, despite sending out 250 grant applications, the couple received just nine funding requests, Tom said. This year, the number nearly tripled to 22 applicants.

“This is not something we grandstand on,” Tom said. “We want everyone to leave their footprint, and the marketing budget is the first thing non-profits have slashed in a trying economy.”

The $6,000 in funding was divided up among 16 organizations. A nine-member selection committee chose the winners, according to Tom.

“The FootPRINT Fund is not the Tom and Linda show,” he said. “We decided we need a committee to equally share in the results.”

This year, the committee was made up of local officials and community leaders from Romeoville and Bolingbrook, including Village of Romeoville Mayor John Noak, Bolingbrook Deputy Mayor Leroy Brown, Des Plaines Valley Public Library Director Scott Pointon, Valley View School District school board member Ronnie Bull of Ronnie Bull Sales, Culvers Romeoville owner Ron Dalrymple, DuPage Township Supervisor Bill Mayer and Promenade of Bolingbrook Marketing Director Kris Kuchler.

Once all of this year’s applications were received, Tom said, committee members had two weeks to review the requests and cast their votes as to which organization should receive funding.

Randy Farber, director of food and beverage at Bolingbrook Golf Club, said the $250 in marketing money will allow him to promote a cause dear to his heart, the Marsha Farber Foundation, aimed at making life easier for juvenile diabetes patients.

The foundation is named after Farber’s mother, who battled diabetes all her life.

“I watched her deteriorate over the years and I thought, this is crazy,” he said. Making matters worse for patients is the fact that the supplies and medications needed to treat the disease don’t come cheap, Farber added.

“There’s thousands of kids who can’t afford the supplies,” he said. The funding will help Farber promote the foundation’s mission and reach more young patients.

“Whatever I can do to put a small on their face and lessen their burden, that’s what it’s all about,” he said.

Bob Kalnicky, executive director of The Community Service Council of Northern Will County, said this is the second year his organization has received grant funding.

Last year, the money helped pay for a tri-fold display to help the CSC spread the word about its services, including housing counseling.

“As you can imagine, the housing situation in the area is still a crisis, frankly,” Kalnicky said, adding the funding has helped the CSC serve more clients. “Its’ been very effective. That in turn helps us reach more people and do what we do.”

Heart Haven Outreach, which is in its seventh year of working with at-risk teens at Romeoville and Bolingbrook high schools, was also a recipient this year.

“Our goal really is to provide students hope,” said Executive Director Patricia Claar. “There’s kids who fall through the cracks … they choose some paths that are not the right paths and we’re there to try and show them a better path.”

Portions of the funding also went to support some non-human causes.

The Romeoville Humane Society received a $250 award, while another $250 will go toward helping the Forest Preserve District of Will County promote fundraisers for the care and feeding of Rosie the bloodhound.

“This money is actually going to support our search and rescue dog,” said forest preserve district Public Affairs Superintendent Laura Kiran. “She works with our police department and she helps community police departments find missing persons.”

 The following organizations received grants:

• Heart Haven Outreach, $750
• The Community Service Council of Northern Will County, $750
• CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of Will County, $750
• Wilco Area Career Center, $500
• Franciscan Sisters of Chicago, $500
• Forest Preserve District of Will County, $250
• Take Back the Night of Northern Will County, $250
• St. Andrew the Apostle, $250
• Romeoville Humane Society, $250
• Romeoville Area Historical Society, $250
• Romeoville Area Chamber of Commerce, $250
• The Power Connection, $250
• Marsha Farber Foundation, $250
• March of Dimes, $250
• St. Andrew the Apostle Knights of Columbus, $250
• Bridges to a New Day, $250