Water Damage Restoration in Rockford, IL

Celebrate Giving Tuesday all season long by donating, volunteering and spreading the word about these amazing local organizations.

Patch Holiday, Patch Staff

Giving Tuesday is a global movement that encourages people to give back to their communities, typically through charitable donations, volunteer work or acts of kindness. It takes place annually on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving in the U.S., right after Black Friday and Cyber Monday. While it's celebrated widely, the real impact happens when we do good right at home by supporting local businesses, causes and organizations working to uplift our own communities.

We've rounded up a list of some great organizations, causes and initiatives in the Rockford area. Please keep in mind, this is by no means an exhaustive list — just a starting point for discovering amazing local opportunities to give back, not only on Giving Tuesday but year-round! Be sure to contact each organization directly to find out about their hours or the best ways you can contribute.

Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful (KNIB) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the environment through education, awareness and community involvement. Volunteers play a crucial role in initiatives like recycling drives, litter prevention and beautification projects, helping to make Northern Illinois a clean and green place to live.Learn more: knib.org

Winnebago County CASA empowers volunteers to advocate for abused or neglected children in the juvenile court system, ensuring their best interests are represented. Volunteers serve as fact-finders, courtroom advocates and watchdogs, working to find safe, permanent homes for these children. As of the time of publication, they are seeking over 100 new volunteers to help meet the community's needs.Learn more: winnebagocountycasa.org

Volunteering with the Boys & Girls Club of Rockford offers the chance to positively impact youth through homework help, coaching, mentoring or teaching arts. Volunteers build healthy relationships, serving as role models in programs for academic success and sports and recreation.Learn more: rgreatfutures.org

Find out what's happening in Rockfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Volunteers are the backbone of Rockford Area Habitat for Humanity, directly impacting the community by building homes, supporting the ReStore and more. Opportunities include construction, processing donations, customer service and providing lunches for volunteers.Learn more: rockfordhabitat.org

United Way of Rock River Valley has been a vital part of the Winnebago County community for over 100 years, addressing critical local needs through various impact areas such as youth opportunity, community resiliency and financial security. Volunteers are essential in initiatives like the United for Literacy program, the 211 helpline and the Strong Neighborhoods program, providing valuable support and resources.Learn more: unitedwayrrv.org

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ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) - A smokestack climbs from the Gunite manufacturing plant. The scene burns with industry – semi-trucks roll in and out of the plant while cement structures the size of school buses lay on the ground.

Down the street is the Behr Den – serving Rockford’s manufacturing southside since 1896; the Gunite plant is older than the Behr Den – opening in 1854.

“This is a great place to come,” says Jennifer Briggs – the Behr Den owner. “We feel like family. Everybody talks. Sometimes you can’t hear yourself think.”

The owner describes mornings with booths full of workers from Behr and Gunite, “You see all different walks of life here. They sit next to each other. They talk to each other. There’s no judgements here.”

On October 9, wheels manufacturer Accuride, Gunite’s owner, announced its Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In a statement to WIFR, the UAW Local 718, representing part of the plant’s 285 hourly workers, revealed the company wouldn’t “move forward” with the Rockford factory.

“If Gunite does not sell before the bankruptcy is cleared, Accuride will close the plant,” writes a Local 718 representative. That “cleared” date is set for January – once the restructuring is complete.

Briggs learned of the closure on Wednesday. She credits Gunite workers for keeping the Behr Den open during the pandemic, “Gunite kept us alive. Every day we were feeding 20 people from there. Breakfast, sometimes lunch too.”

Angela Larson – Greater Rockford Chamber of Commerce CEO – credits plants like Gunite for forging the city.

“In the beginning, we had a lot of immigrants who came here and built furniture,” reports Larson. “That furniture needed fasteners to be held together.”

However, the CEO sees Accuride’s size as susceptible to financial situations like now, “I think we’ll see a lot of that in the years ahead as companies, through succession planning, change hands.”

Still, hope for a new owner keeps spirits high for those supporting local manufacturing.

“I hope they don’t close. I hope they stay open, and they prosper and bring business to the Rockford area,” maintains Briggs.

Larson sees the area as transitioning to higher skilled labor: “We have phenomenal training and education programs, to keep up-skilling and helping workers build even better careers here.”

Other industries excite the CEO, with Larson claiming, “This is a very exciting time to be doing business in Rockford. We are a leader in transportation with our cargo expertise at the airport. We’re the thirteenth largest cargo export in the country.”

The company’s restructuring won’t affect Mexican, European and Asian subsidiaries. All plants will operate “as usual” until the January deadline for buyers to scoop assemblies like Gunite.

Accuride tells WIFR in a statement:

Copyright 2024 WIFR. All rights reserved.

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asks residents to prepare for heavy traffic as they begin an environmental cleanup project.

Forest City residents will soon say goodbye to the former Illinois Cabinet Company building, a structure that has sat at 2525 11th St. for more than a century. From 1906 to 1973, the building manufactured wooden furniture, including cabinets for TVs. From ‘73 on, it sat vacant until 2023 when the property owner hired a salvage company to remove valuable building materials. This decision weakened the five-story structure.

In December 2023, a fire broke out on the 1.6-acre site creating enough extensive damage for the city to have the building condemned. The fire also revealed large amounts of asbestos-contaminated debris, more than the City of Rockford could handle on their own.

“A building material salvage contractor had done some work, had illegally removed some asbestos and that asbestos was still in the building,” Brownfields redevelopment specialist Rob Wilhelmi says. “With the potential threat to human health and the environment we needed additional resources to address this.”

That’s where the EPA stepped in to help. Free of charge to the city, the agency will remove the debris and take precautions to limit the spread of the asbestos before taking the building down. The contaminated materials will then be taken to an approved facility for disposal. Throughout the process, the EPA will also monitor the air to make sure asbestos fibers remain in the site.

Decades of vacancy turned the building into a hot spot for trespassers who do not realize the danger of the site. EPA on-site coordinator Colin Hendrickson explains asbestos can cause all kinds of respiratory illnesses including lung cancer and mesothelioma.

“Get out the word that entering a site like this is putting yourself at risk as well as also risking the public because there is a potential that you could be carrying asbestos fibers off-site on your close and on your shoes,” Hendrickson says.

After demolition, Wilhelmi shares that there is no plan in the works to replace the building.

“Our primary concern is just to limit the impact to the environment and hopefully re-position the site for re-development in the future,” Wilhelmi says.

The sidewalk outside the site on 11th St. will be closed temporarily as the project goes on, as well as a temporary lane closure in the street. The EPA warns residents they will hear an increase in noise and see more congested traffic.

To keep up to date with the 11th Street project visit the EPA’s website here.

Copyright 2024 WIFR. All rights reserved.

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — The large land surrounding the US-20 and IL-2 interchange could be used for industrial development very soon.

Monday night, the City of Rockford accepted federal funding from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for $400,000 to implement a Planning and Environmental Linkage study. This study will be used to determine what should be developed and how much can fit on the land.

According to the city, this area is a great location for businesses to set up. It is northwest of the Chicago-Rockford International Airport and just 4.5 miles from downtown Rockford. Second Ward Alderman Jonathan Logemann said this is exactly where development should be.

“When you see those airplanes, Amazon Prime, UPS, you just think about all the opportunity that can exist,” Logemann said. “That’s not there right now with the growth of the South Main corridor. I think moving this along is important to South Rockford and important to our overall region.”

Logemann said the project is designed to give local business owners some help from the city.

“It’s hard work being a developer and undergoing all the costs and all the construction costs,” Logemann said. “We as a city are trying to make it as easy as we can. Ultimately, economic development helps every Rockfordian.”

The project is estimated to create about 37,000 jobs for the area. President of Rockford Chamber of Commerce Caitlin Pusateri said this is a great opportunity for Rockford’s future.

“It’s a big task, but it’s an exciting one and one that’s really based on opportunity,” Pusateri said. “If you think about an organization, if they come in and they bring 500 jobs, that could be 500 new people that are putting money into our economy, that are volunteering with our nonprofits, that are giving back their time, talent and resources to small businesses in our area. Everyone grows when things like that happen.”

Logemann said the project is still in its early stages, but these planning sessions are necessary for moving forward.

“It’s not something that’s going to happen tomorrow, but having these plans in place, I think is smart planning by city hall and hopefully it’ll pay dividends to our good citizens here in Rockford,” Logemann said.

The city wants to invest $2.5 million into this project for the future development, but Logemann said not every Alderman is on board with the investment. The board will be voting on that item at the next meeting on September 30.