Piatt County Charity Promotes Domestic Violence Awareness

MONTICELLO, Ill. (WCIA) — It’s still hot outside, but it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at a new store in one Central Illinois city.

Willow Tree Missions opened their third resale shop in Monticello on Wednesday. Unlike the others, it’s a Christmas market.

Previously, when people would donate holiday items to Willow Tree Missions for resale, the non-profit would save them. This past July, they realized they had more than 600 totes of just Christmas items. So, they opened the Christmas market.

But, it’s bigger than just a storefront. They’re raising money for a purpose.

“It is all things Christmas,” Willow Tree Mission’s Executive Director, Jill Maxey, said.

Shoppers can get their Christmas fix now until Dec. 23. Their hours are Wednesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The resale shop will also occasionally be open on Sunday.

Although this storefront just opened, Willow Tree Missions has been around since 2007.

“We are here to help provide domestic violence services to those who are going through a crisis,” Maxey shared.

Their primary focus is supporting people in Piatt County.

“So, we help in crisis and long term safety planning, leaving a domestic violence situation, and everything in between,” Willow Tree Mission’s Director of Services, Andrea Kocher, said.

The store is opening in a timely way. October is National Domestic Violence Awareness month.

“We’re able to utilize it as a platform to get our mission out, that we truly are here to support people going through a domestic violence situation,” Kocher said.

She said being aware of domestic violence — and what it looks like — is crucial.

“Domestic violence is a learned behavior. It is not something that’s inherent, it absolutely can be prevented,” Kocher said.

She said that the more they can educate the public, and the younger they can educate, the more likely they are to stop the cycle.

Willow Tree Missions is a non-profit organization, but they aren’t government funded.

“While we would qualify to accept state and federal funding, it also puts a lot of limitations on the services we can provide. And essentially, victims have to check a box,” Kocher shared.

She added that they’re able to raise 80% of their funds from the resale shops, and the stores are pivotal for the work they’re doing.

Kocher also shared that nationally, one in every three women will be the victim of domestic violence, as well as, one in seven men. Just in 2025, she said that Willow Tree Missions has already served 93 individuals plus their family members in Piatt County.