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Kids & Family

People Profile: Local Man Works and Volunteers to Make Romeoville a Better Place to Live

Each week, Romeoville Patch will profile a noteworthy community member.

Jimmy Barber of Romeoville is passionate about community service. What began as a volunteer position 21 years ago ultimately led to full-time employment with the DuPage County Area Project (DuCAP), a charitable organization that works with local residents and agencies to prevent juvenile delinquency.

After working in various capacities since he began part-time employment in 1993, Barber now serves as DuCAP’s executive director.

In 2009, the Bolingbrook Chamber of Commerce presented DuCAP with the Best of Bolingbrook Business (Non-Profit) award.

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Area residents may also know Barber for his community involvement through the Kiwanis Club of Bolingbrook/Romeoville. The club claimed the Bolingbrook chamber’s best non-profit award in 2011.

The nine-year resident of Romeoville has been married for 15 years and has two children: a 6-year-old daughter and a son who is about to turn 10.

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Patch recently interviewed Barber about the ways in which both DuCAP and the Kiwanis Club are making the community a better place to live.

Patch: What is DuCAP’s mission?

Barber: “To work toward the prevention and eradication of juvenile delinquency by empowering local residents to organize as a Neighborhood Action Club, and to assist in the development of resources and opportunities that give youth of all ages the skills to make better choices in life.”

Patch: What are your responsibilities with the organization?

Barber: You name it, I do it. Since we are a smaller size not-for-profit, I wear several hats. I am an administrator at times, I am a supervisor at times and I am even a front-line worker at other times.

Patch: What do you enjoy most about being part of DuCAP?

Barber: Seeing positive changes to many youths and communities.

Patch: How did you learn about DuCAP?

Barber: I grew up in a similar program in the city called the Chicago Area Project. One of their neighborhood locations ran a summer camp out in the Park Forest South area called Camp Pompeii. Since I came from a lower-income, single-parent household, this camp was a great way to keep me out of trouble in those hot summer months when kids can get bored and get into trouble.

When I got older and moved away, my mother was in contact from time to time with the camp leader. The leader mentioned that they started a new Area Project program in the suburbs near where I lived and said I should check it out and even volunteer maybe. At that time, I was going to for an aviation degree and commuted back and forth from Glendale Heights. I did start to volunteer and never looked back. I ended up changing my major from aviation to business administration with several social work classes under my belt, as well.

Patch: Why did you want to be a part of it?

Barber: It was a natural fit, at times. I could relate to the struggles of many of the youth I worked with. I had lived a somewhat bumpy life, but at the same time, I kept myself from going over the deep end of no return. I knew I didn’t do this myself, meaning I had positive experiences, role models to help me along the way to adulthood. I didn’t want to see others fall into those pitfalls that many youth get sucked up into while growing up. I had to at least give them (the youth I worked with) options, and hopefully they will prevail over the sin that devours many who don’t have any guidance or outlets

Patch: How does DuCAP make Romeoville a better community?

Barber: Well, one step at a time. DuCAP starts by educating and engaging the youth and adults of the community. We stress that prevention is the key to a safer and healthier community. It is easier to provide for the community, but we see a stronger impact when the community is involved with the processes of redevelopment or engagement of its neighbors.

DuCAP is making Romeoville a better community because we are seeing growth in the understanding that to truly make a community better, “we the people” of this community need to be involved … DuCAP has established programs for youth to get involved, and we are trying now to get adults involved by starting local chapters of our Neighborhood Action Club (NAC) program. The NAC is a group of local residents within a specific neighborhood working together to create and maintain a safe and healthy environment for youth and families.

Patch: You are also active with the local Kiwanis Club. When did you become a member of Kiwanis?

Barber: I became a member of the local Kiwanis Club back in 2007.

Patch: What was it about the Kiwanis Club that made you want to join?

Barber: It is important to me, as well as DuCAP, to get involved, to learn what is happening in my community and see how people are engaging themselves to make a difference. This was my opportunity to volunteer my time to be proactive in making change.

Patch: Are you an officer of the club?

Barber: I am currently the secretary of the club. I am also the past president (two terms). I have recently been voted to be the Kiwanis lieutenant governor for the Illinois - Eastern Iowa 21 District. In short, I will be involved with nine local clubs around the area, helping them with recruitment, fundraising, planning, etc. I also am the Kiwanis advisor to the Romeoville High School Key Club, and I sit on the committee for scholarships, membership and special projects.

Patch: What is the mission of the Kiwanis Club?

Barber: Our club mission is to serve the children of the Bolingbrook and Romeoville area.

The name “Kiwanis” means “We trade” or “We share our talents.” It was coined from an American Indian expression, Nunc Kee-wanis.

Kiwanians are volunteers changing the world through service to children and communities. Kiwanis members help shelter the homeless, feed the hungry, mentor the disadvantaged and care for the sick. They develop youth as leaders, build playgrounds, raise funds for pediatric research and much more. No problem is too big or too small. Why? Because working together, members achieve what one person cannot accomplish alone. When you give a child a chance to learn, experience, dream and succeed, great things happen! As Kiwanis clubs and members, we see it every day!

Patch: What are some of the activities of the local club?

Barber: BUG Program (Bring Up Grades) in 11 elementary schools; Terrific Kids Program in three schools; Builders Club, co-sponsored by DuCAP, in five middle schools; Key Club in two high schools; Circle K at ; and Aktion Club Adults with Disabilities program, co-sponsored by the Tri-County SRA.

Patch: What do you enjoy most about being a Kiwanian?

Barber: Giving back and seeing that what we do is not a handout. Kids are learning that life is not just about themselves, but in fact about being a part of something bigger in this world; also getting children to now understand that community service is not what you do when you get in trouble, but in fact what you should do to make this world a better place to live.

Patch: How does someone become a member of the Kiwanis Club or DuCAP?

Barber: To get involved with DuCAP, contact me at jimmy@ducap.org or check us out at www.ducap.org or on facebook at www.facebook.com/ducap2.

To get involved with Kiwanis, contact me or our current president, Michael Carpanzano, at mcarpanzano@mbfinancial.com or check us out on facebook at www.facebook.com/kiwanisclub.

Patch: DuCAP and the Kiwanis Club must keep you pretty busy. Do you have time to participate in any other activities?

Barber: Oh yes, I am the current president of the Illinois Council of Area Projects, or ICAP (22 area projects around the state). I am also the president of the Valley View Area Coalition for Youth (VVACY), a member of the Romeoville Youth Commission, member of several chambers of commerce (Romeoville, Bolingbrook, Carol Stream) and an assistant coach for Romeoville Pony Baseball. I also volunteer here and there for other charities and causes.

Patch: What do you like to do in your “spare time?”

Barber: I enjoy spending much of my spare time with my family. I play adult 12-inch softball twice a week in the summer months.  

Patch: You obviously care deeply about Romeoville and its residents. Why is community service so important to you?

Barber: It is so important to me because if we don’t lead by example, then how can we create leaders of tomorrow? I have children that are watching everything I do and say, and I want them to understand that life is too short to wait for change to happen. 

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