JOLIET – Apprentice instructors from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 176 recently donated their time and materials to help local nonprofit Friends of Community Public Art by repairing electrical wiring at the art center.

The center, at 310 N. Ottawa St. in Joliet, needed assistance to get the building ready for the beginning of a new school year for tenants St. Joseph Academy.

Apprentice instructors Gregg Vershay, Mike Clemmons and Dan Dutkiewicz investigated the reason two electrical circuits were not working at the building. They found that a junction box buried behind drywall was the main culprit. After fixing those problems, they installed three much-needed fluorescent fixtures in a storeroom.

The historic former Steelworkers Union hall houses the Friends of Community Public Art and St. Joseph Academy. FCPA creates community-based murals, mosaics and sculptures in Joliet and across the country. St. Joseph Academy is an independent Catholic Montessori preschool and elementary school offering individualized education for its students.

For information about FCPA, visit www.fcpaonline.org or contact Kathleen Farrell at 815-768-6034. For information about St. Joseph Academy, visit www.sjajoliet.org or contact Jan Navotny at 815-483-3967.