Naperville Jazz Fest helps families
Positive feedback is music to the ears of Project HELP organizers because one of the group's largest fundraisers of the year is based on just that: music.
The Naperville Jazz Festival raises money for Project HELP, a nonprofit organization that seeks to prevent child abuse by using long-term mentoring relationships to strengthen parents' skills and confidence so they can build a caring, supportive home life for their children. HELP stands for Healthy Environment for Little People.
The festival runs 4 to 10 p.m. Saturday, June 18, at the Naperville Community Concert Center, 104 E. Benton Ave. It not only features a variety of jazz musicians, but also supports Project HELP's efforts to continue offering services to families like Phillips'.
“I think it's a fun way to bring people out,” said Vicki Colleta, a board member and parent mentor volunteer at Project HELP. “And it gives us the opportunity to raise awareness of who we are to a large group of people in a really festive atmosphere.”
Last year the festival attracted about 550 fans, and organizers are hoping for around 1,000 this time around.
Among the evening's performers are the Lisle High School Jazz Combo, the Shawn Maxwell Quartet, Agnieszka Iwanska, the Reginald T. McCants Quartet and the well-known Spyro Gyra.
“It's great to have this kind of festival not located in the heart of Chicago,” musician Shawn Maxwell said. “It's great to have something in the suburbs that has the same flavor of things you would find in the cities.”
Maxwell has been a professional jazz musician for 12 years and calls his style “fun jazz,” a mixture of funk and rock that is “not the old cornball stuff.”
This will be Maxwell's first appearance at the Naperville Jazz Festival.
“I love playing with my band,” Maxwell said. “I love playing my stuff, the way I do it, and getting a reaction from the crowd. It makes me feel like I'm not just wasting my time.”
In a change from last year, all tickets are for general admission and can be purchased in advance for $25 or at the event for $30.
The money raised from the Naperville Jazz Festival will help fund Project HELP's mentoring programs and parent education workshops.
Project HELP, founded in 1992, is a child abuse prevention center focused on strengthening and improving the quality of life for parents and children in DuPage County, Colleta said.
“We go in and we try to calm everything down,” Colleta said. “We problem-solve through the process and help them solve whatever their issues are.”
The parent mentoring program is done entirely on a voluntary basis and reflects a two-year commitment between a volunteer and a family, all working toward a more stable home environment.
Project HELP also offers free parent education workshops in communities around DuPage County that help teach parenting skills in one-night sessions.
At the festival, “we're not beating anybody over the head that this is Project HELP,” Colleta said. “Yes, we're the beneficiary and the ones putting it on, but it's really just a fun night for people to come out and enjoy a night of jazz under the stars.”
If you go
What: Naperville Jazz Festival
Why: Proceeds support Project HELP's efforts to prevent child abuse
When: 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, June 18
Where: Community Concert Center in Central Park, 104 E. Benton Ave., Naperville
Cost: $25 in advance, $30 at gate
Info: napervillejazz.org
Schedule
4 p.m. Lisle High School Jazz Combo
5 p.m. Shawn Maxwell Quartet
6 p.m. Agnieszka Iwanska
7 p.m. Reginald T. McCants Quartet
8:30 p.m. Sypro Gyra