A fresh coat of paint is known to lift moods and brighten spirits. For medically fragile children, their families and those who care for them at CoACH Care Center in Naperville, getting fresh paint on their facility, at no cost to them, has definitely brought with it some well-deserved cheer.

"It could not have come at a better time," said Mary Kay Caporali, director of operations at CoACH Care. "It was a huge benefit to CoACH."

Skokie-based Hester Painting & Decorating donated more than $21,000 in labor to paint the facility's great room, halls, administrative offices, woodwork and ceiling, she said.

"Over the last two months, 25 painters volunteered 220 man-hours, while Benjamin Moore, Sherwin Williams and Pittsburgh Paints donated all of the paint," Caporali said.

"They are so appreciative," said Jeff Hester, vice president of Hester Painting. "It was such a good feeling. We changed somebody's world."

The project came about when Hester Painting, which employs 85 painters and paperhangers, decided that for the company's 40th anniversary, instead of throwing themselves a party, they would celebrate the occasion by completing a project for charity. A client suggested CoACH (Coordinating Action for Children's Health) Care. After Hester and a supervisor visited the facility, they immediately knew they wanted to help.

"It literally touched us so much when we saw what they do there and how they care about the kids," Hester said.

CoACH Care is a 4,800-square-foot, five-bedroom house south of Hobson Road on Route 53. Opened in 1998, the center is a licensed facility that cares for up to 10 medically fragile children at a time. Children in their Respite Care program can be at the center for up to two weeks a year. They also have a 120-day Transitional Program that serves as a bridge between hospital and home for the children who still need around-the-clock care, but do not need to be in a hospital. The center is open seven days a week, 24 hours a day, so that families can spend the maximum amount of time with their children.

The facility receives state funding to operate and has been in the news recently because, as is the case with many Illinois agencies, it has been waiting on the state to come through with its funding.

"Every one of my guys were touched and moved," Hester said. "These big, huge burly painters meeting the kids there, and you see them wiping a tear way."

CoACH Care employees were equally touched by the generosity of the painters.

"I was so awestruck that so many men would take a weekend doing this," Caporali said. "We couldn't do what we do without people like Hester doing what they do."