COLLINSVILLE – Collinsville Community Unit School District #10 Superintendent Dr. Mark B. Skertich accepted a $100,000 gift from the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades® PATCH Foundation to benefit the CAVC Joseph Smith Vocational Scholarship.
The Joseph Smith Vocational Scholarship was created in 2022 by the Gregg and Anna Smith family in memory of their son, Collinsville Area Vocational Center student Joseph Smith. The scholarship benefits students who attend CAVC to pursue training toward a career in the automotive or welding industries.
The Painters and Allied Trades for Children’s Hope Foundation (PATCH) was established in 2001, and is supported by the members IUPAT to help children in need throughout North America. It has raised and given nearly $2 million to organizations that provide educational and medical services to youth, and in support of local children’s sports programs. “We are grateful as a family to belong to the IUPAT and the PATCH Foundation where we can be a part of making a difference in student’s lives at the Collinsville Area Vocational Center,” said Gregg Smith, general secretary-treasurer of the IUPAT, “We know our son Joe wouldn’t have had it any other way than to help his fellow students at the center pursue the same goals he was so passionate about.”
“The members of the IUPAT are proud to give back to our communities through the PATCH Foundation,” said James Williams, Jr, general president of the IUPAT, “Making a positive difference in children’s lives is the ultimate reward for being a good neighbor in our communities.” CAVC is a two-year, public vocational training center for high school juniors and seniors.
Housed on the campus of Collinsville High School, it is a cooperative program which also includes students from Civic Memorial High School, Dupo High School, East Alton-Wood River High School, Edwardsville High School, Highland High School, Lebanon High School, Mascoutah High School, Roxana High School and Triad High School. Joe McGinnis, director of CAVC, said, “Joseph Smith was a dedicated Collinsville Area Vocational student who excelled in auto mechanics and welding, demonstrating both skill and passion for the trades.
In his honor, the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades’ generous $100,000 donation will support future generations of welding and auto mechanics students.” “Each year, this contribution will provide a student with a scholarship or essential tools depending on their choice of continuing their education or entering the workforce,” added McGinnis, “This will help ensure students have the necessary resources to succeed in their chosen careers. Joseph’s legacy will live on through the hands of those who continue to build and shape the world around them.”
About IUPAT IUPAT represents 140,000 active and retired workers in the finishing trades across the United States and Canada. They represent dozens of trades, primarily industrial painters, commercial and decorative painters, drywall finishers, glaziers and glass workers, sign and display workers, trade show workers, floor covering installers, and many more successful careers in the construction industry and public sector. (Learn more about the PATCH Foundation.)
About Collinsville Community Unit School District #10 & CAVC Collinsville Community Unit School District #10 comprises 12 schools, serving 6,100+ students PreK-12 in Madison & St. Clair Counties in southwestern Illinois. Collinsville Area Vocational Center is a cooperative career and technical education program operated by CUSD 10 that includes students from ten area high schools.
Support Local Scholarships The Joseph Smith Vocational Scholarship is supported through the Collinsville Area Community Foundation. CACF is a public charitable organization as defined by Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. All contributions and gifts are tax deductible.
