St. Charles resident to receive community impact award from TriCity Family Services

Jim Di Ciaula

St. Charles resident Jim Di Ciaula has been selected the recipient of TriCity Family Services’ 40th annual William D. Barth Award for the positive impact he has made on Kane County communities.

Di Ciaula is executive director of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Kane County, founder of Random Acts Matter and a longtime community leader who has donated his time and service to community organizations such as the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce, TriCity Family Services and several others.

Each year, TriCity Family Services in Geneva celebrates the work of a local leader whose dedication to philanthropy creates lasting, positive change in the community through the William D. Barth Award, named after one of the organization’s founders. Di Ciaula will be presented with the award at a ceremony Oct. 17 at Riverside Receptions in downtown Geneva.

Di Ciaula was nominated for this year’s award by a group of his peers who highlighted his work to improve the community, his helping heart and the countless hours he has volunteered to his church and other local organizations.

“Jim is an outstanding leader in our community,” Random Acts Matter board member Debi Craig said in a news release. “He is a caring and compassionate person who takes action to help people. He is extremely successful in problem-solving, bringing people together to improve a situation or to resolve an issue.”

With more than 35 years of experience as a leader in the financial services industry, Di Ciaula joined the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce in 2017 as president and CEO and led more than 650 businesses and organizations through strategic growth and collaboration.

In his two years as executive director at CASA Kane County, Di Ciaula and the CASA team have led hundreds of volunteer advocates to become the voice for children in foster care due to abuse and/or neglect.

CASA Kane County has been selected by NYU Wagner Graduate School to lead a significant project focused on volunteer recruitment, retention and experience.

“Jim has been an exemplary steward of our mission, guiding us with passion, wisdom and an unwavering commitment to serving others,” the president of CASA Kane County’s board of directors Kris Wano said in the release. “Under his visionary leadership, CASA Kane County has flourished, impacting the lives of our most vulnerable youth in profound ways.”

From 2010-2016, Di Ciaula served on the TriCity Family Services’ board of directors, leading as president in 2011. In 2017, he founded a nonprofit organization dedicated to doing good: Random Acts Matter.

Random Acts Matter has positively impacted thousands of lives through acts of kindness, including a TriCity Family Services client who was gifted a much-needed mobility device by the nonprofit in 2023.

“Jim’s unfailing commitment to the organizations he has worked and served as a volunteer is commendable,” longtime TriCity Family Services board member Diane Gibson said in the release. “I have learned a great deal from him over the years and believe he deserves recognition for all his contributions to our community.”

Di Ciaula’s friends and colleagues are invited to the award ceremony and complimentary dinner at 5 p.m. Oct. 17 at Riverside Receptions in downtown Geneva. A buffet-style dinner will be served at 6 p.m. and a cash bar will be available.

Because of limited space, registration for the event is encouraged. To register, visit bit.ly/Barth24 or contact Laura Stoney at lstoney@tricityfamilyservices.org or 630-232-1070, ext. 120.