Charity Art Fair spotlights student artwork, aids CASA

An agency that helps abused or neglected children who are involved in legal proceedings is $750 richer, thanks to some talented Will County art students, according to Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, Will County regional superintendent of schools.

"I appreciate the participation from our various schools and families. We hope to continue to expand the event, not only as a charitable event, but to support the arts in our schools," Bertino-Tarrant said.

Storybook Masterpiece, the second annual Will County Charity Art Fair presented by the Will County Regional Office of Education, the University of St. Francis College of Education and the Joliet Park District raffled art projects created by groups of kindergarten through eighth-grade students from 12 Will County grade schools. Two high schools -- Lockport Township and Providence Catholic -- also participated in the art fair last month at the Pilcher Park Nature Center in Joliet.

In keeping with the theme of Kids Helping Kids established at the first art fair, the money raised was donated to Court Appointed Special Advocates of Will County (CASA), a group that trains volunteers to represent the interests of children as they move through the court system.

Raffle winners got an assortment of colorful artworks, including paintings, papier-mache scenes, painted furniture and photographs based on fairy tales like "Cinderella" to more recent classics such as "Where the Wild Things Are."