By FRED KRONER
The success stories are what keep Jackie Butler going.
Her involvement with It Takes a Village began in 2012, when she and her daughter, Heather Denam, founded the Mahomet-based organization to help those in need.
“We had hair bows recently,” Butler said. “A woman came in and was so excited. Her daughter loves bows, but they don’t buy them because they are not a necessity.”
The client left with an assortment of bows.
The price is always right at It Takes a Village, located on the first floor of Sangamon on Main.
“It’s 100 percent free,” Butler said, “and they get to pick what they want.”
Another recent story stands out for Butler.
“A homeless man came in,” she said. “He was sleeping outside and had no coat. This happened in Mahomet.
“We were able to get him a coat, gloves and sweaters so at least he could be warm. It makes you feel good.”
After Feb. 4, Butler has more reasons to feel good.
She was chosen as the Community Servant of the Year by the Mahomet Area Chamber of Commerce.
The annual awards recognition program was handled virtually this year.
If Butler had her way, the honor would have been designated for the Community Servants of the Year.
“I don’t do this alone,” she said. “There are so many moving parts. It should be (awarded to) It Takes a Village Central Illinois.
“Why should I get notoriety when I’m just a link in the chain? We need all of us to keep it going.”
Butler is joined by a group of committed volunteers, including three of her five daughters. Besides Denam, Mandy Pryor and Shawn McLaughlin are also helpers.
“We’re a very tight family and we spend a lot of time together,” Butler said. “This is another way.
“It makes you feel you’re doing God’s work by helping out. You see a need and you help out.”
Among the others who assist are Nadine Coffin (Butler’s husband’s aunt), Cheryl Melchi, Abby Lovato and Tim Conder.
Some work with Butler in the shop during hours of operation (Thursdays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and Saturdays, 9 a.m.-noon) and others, Butler said, “work behind the scenes.”
Butler is always on the lookout for additional people who are interested in helping It Takes a Village.
“I am in hopes that we will get more younger volunteers to come in and take over,” she said.
Though the shop is based in Mahomet, there are no restrictions on who can receive assistance.
“We not only help people in Mahomet,” Butler said, “but also people from Champaign, people from Monticello, people from Farmer City, people from Tolono, people from Danville, people from Mansfield.
“We help anybody that can drive to us.”
The manner in which It Takes a Village can be of service has changed over the years.
When they started – in Denam’s house – Butler and Denam tried to meet the needs themselves.
“We’d go to garage sales and buy stuff,” Butler said, “or we’d ask for donations from garage sale leftovers.
“People would say, ‘We need Size 3 for a boy,’ and we would find it and deliver it.”
Mother and daughter soon recognized that they needed a different plan of attack.
“It was very overwhelming and time-consuming,” Butler said. “The storage totes were taking over the whole house.”
They shifted their location to a storage unit at Rusk Storage, which met their needs until 2019, when they relocated to their current site at Sangamon on Main.
“We definitely knew there was a need,” Butler said, “and we wanted to help people, but we didn’t think it would become what it has.”
Butler and her associates are no longer scouring the area for garage sale items.
“It all runs off of donations,” she said. “We have anything you’d need, clothes, sheets, blankets, towels, winter coats, cleaning and hygiene products.”
Out of necessity, ITAV has traditionally held fund-raising events. They have also added garage sales dates on all Saturdays, except the second one of each month.
“That (money) goes for keeping the rent and insurance paid,” Butler said.
In 2020, the coronavirus forced all events to be canceled. ITAV shut down for two months.
“When we reopened, it was limited to three people in the space at a time, and no children,” Butler said.
They aren’t as busy as they once were.
“A lot of elderly have stopped coming, we think for fear of COVID,” Butler said.
Even during the darkest of times, however, there were positives.
“More people are dropping off clothing donations,” Butler said, “and I think we’ll get more when people start coming in again.”
It Takes a Village took time over Christmas Break to make room for more items.
“We remodeled and added more shelving,” Butler said.
The move to Sangamon on Main allowed ITAV access to water and bathrooms, neither of which were available at the storage unit.
Other tenants in the former elementary school building have welcomed It Takes a Village.
“Mary (Pettenger, from Winderson’s Creations) and Darwyn (Boston, State Farm Insurance) have been fantastic and helped us get set up,” Butler said.
The staff at ITAV prefers donated clothes to be stain-free and ones that are in style.
“We don’t want your great-grandmother’s clothes,” Butler said.
If the shop gets items that they are unable to put on the shelves, Butler said, “nothing goes to the dumpster.”
Instead, the few items they are not able to use are taken to Salt and Light Ministry, in Champaign.
Butler expects by the end of 2021, a change will be implemented.
“We have always done a big Christmas giveaway, but this last year will be the last to do it the way we have, where we have purchased gifts (for children),” Butler said. “Next year, we’re going to do it as an Angel Tree.”
The difference could lead to happier young faces on Christmas Day.
“The way we were doing it, clients would shop for what we had, but it was not necessarily what (the children) had asked Santa for,” Butler said. “The kids would get things, but maybe not what they really want.”
With the Angel Tree concept, specific requests will be made and those who take a name off the tree and wish to donate, will know in advance what they are looking for.
Butler has cut back on her cleaning business to one client – the first one she had 36 years ago – but doesn’t plan to leave It Take a Village any time soon.
“I don’t see myself walking away until I can’t walk,” she said.
When she’s not at It Takes a Village, Butler is still active. For the past two years, she has also worked at Willow Tree Mission, in Monticello, in the re-sale shop.
The money that is generated is used to help victims of domestic violence in Piatt County. Butler’s daughter, Heather Denam, is the store manager at Willow Tree.
Other finalists for Community Servant of the Year were Darwyn Boston and Dave Parsons.
Mahomet Area
Chamber of Commerce
Annual Recognition Awards
Overall Business of the Year – Greg Collins, Mahomet Car Connection
Small Business of the Year – Bran Waibel, Waibel Farmland Services
Food Service of the Year – Satesha Patel and Paul Patel, Subway (two locations)
Startup Business of the Year – Craig Bliss, illini360
Health and Wellness Business of the Year – Kathleen El Koury, Insight Therapy
Volunteer of the Year – Mike McDermith
Community Servant of the Year – Jackie Butler, It Takes A Village
