Welcome to the Kankakee County Branch

You have reached the Kankakee branch of the Greater Illinois Chapter, serving Kankakee and Iroquois counties.  It is estimated that in Illinois, more than 2.1 million adults have doctor-diagnosed arthritis.  In the counties that the Kankakee Branch serves, 32.1% of adults have doctor-diagnosed arthritis; another 8.8% of adults with possible arthritis, but have not yet been diagnosed.  We are here to help those in need with many programs and services!  Check out our site and let us know what you think!                                                           

       

Serving: Kankakee and Iroquois counties

"Please check out our newsletter - Arthritis Awareness!  It's packed full of information to help you live a better life with arthritis."

Contact Information

Kankakee County Branch
Provena Med Center East
455 W. Court St., Suite 300
Kankakee, IL 60901

Phone: (815) 937-2461
Fax: (815) 928-6098

Jenn Wilken, Director of Special Events
E-mail: jwilken@arthritis.org

Therese Cardosi, Director of Program & Services
E-mail: tcardosi@arthritis.org

Hours: 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
             Monday through Friday

2009 Arthritis Walk, Saturday, May 2, 2009

2009 Tea & Fashion Show

Friday, October 16, 2009

Joining Hands to Take Control.  Our Tea & Fashion Show is held at the charming Kankakee Country Club in Kankakee, Illinois.  Come join in on the fun of fashion, tea, delicacies and deserts, social hour, door prizes and a raffle...more

 2008 Junior Ambassadors

Kids Get Arthritis Too!  Did you know that arthritis affects nearly 300,000 children (50,000 have JRA)? JRA is the most common form of juvenile arthritis and one of the most common childhood diseases in the United States.

Suffering from JRA, our youngest Junior Ambassador, Hayley Mitchell is an active Second Grader at St. Joseph School in Bradley, IL.  She spends her time reading, drawing, riding her scooter, playing with her Littlest Pet Shop and Build a Bears...more 

Arthritis Self-Help Course

Self-help involves the willingness to learn about and to assume responsibility for the daily care of your arthritis.  It includes all the decisions you must make and action you take to keep arthritis under control and to stay as independent as possible...more

Arthritis Support Group

The general purpose of arthritis groups is to provide a supportive, non-threatening atmosphere of caring and support in which people with various types of rheumatic diseases and their families can learn to cope...more

 Tai Chi for Health

"Tai Chi" from the Arthritis Foundation is designed to improve the quality of life for people with arthritis using Sun style Tai Chi, one of the four major recognized styles of Tai Chi.  This style includes agile steps and exercises that may improve mobility, breathing and relaxation.  The movements don't require bending or squatting, which makes it easier and more comfortable to learn.

The program itself consists of 12 movements - 6 basic and 6 advanced - a warm up and a cool down.  Once becoming familiar with the 12 movements, the program is designed to provide continual challenge by reversing the direction of the movements.

See schedule of Tai Chi classes here.

Volunteer Opportunities

Do you enjoy meeting new people?  Do you have some free time on your hands and wish you could try something new?  Have you ever thought about becoming a volunteer?

Whether you have a lot of time to give or just an hour here or there, your help could be very valuable to the Arthritis Foundation...more