When Steve Graham walked into a room with animal posters and color-by-number drawings hanging on the wall, he said he felt a little nervous. The room was full of rocking horses and toys neatly put away; it had little chairs and picnic tables that he said made him feel very tall.

Graham, a senior in political science from Lisle, is being trained as a volunteer for the Children’s Program. The program is for children of women who have been subjected to domestic violence and stay in the Women’s Center, 408 W. Freeman St. The program has been offered for more than10 years.

He said he plans to volunteer about one day per week, and he said he hopes he can give children a positive view of men.

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Because a lot of what these kids have seen has been bad, hopefully I’ll be able to make them aware that there are men out there that are good, Graham said.

The Children’s Program gives kids something positive in their lives, Amy Petrauskas, the children’s advocate for the program said.

We provide positive emotional needs for the children, she said. We provide needs they sometimes aren’t used to having fulfilled.

Petrauskas said she is looking forward to having a positive male role model working with the children because there are no males that work or volunteer at the center.

I think it’ll be a very positive experience for the children to have a male role model, she said. It’ll be a great asset to the program for the children to see a positive male interacting with the women who work there.

Walking into the room where the Children’s Program is located, there is a posted sign of rules. Some of the rules include no hitting at any time, time-outs will last one minute, and a rule encouraging children to voice how they feel rather than screaming or yelling.

Graham said that in training, he learned the rules and a little more.

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They will give you a basic rundown and overall view of the children’s behavior as well as teach you about time-outs and a strict no-spanking policy, he said.

Ann Sumpter, a senior in psychology from Davis and Graham’s girlfriend, also volunteers at the program. She said she is proud that Graham volunteered.

I think it’s very big of him, as a male in our society, to help with women issues, she said.

Graham said he is ready to make a change in the children’s lives.

I know that they need a male role model, he said. I’m glad I have the chance to give that to the kids.