This year, we dedicate our 30^th annual tribute to Our Common Threads – the values that have woven our community together throughout 2020. At Easterseals, Our Common Threads are  family, joy, love, friendship and growth. To help us share these threads with the community, we relied on the help of several Easterseals Ambassadors, who in addition to working hard to make progress in therapy, dedicated time to creating pieces of art that could be used for Our Common Threads.

For opportunities to purchase merchandise inspired by the art of these artists, or to learn about how to become involved in the #OurCommonThreads social campaign, visit Eastersealscommonthreads.com.

Keep reading to learn more about our Easterseals Artists!

Annalise W. (Age 7) Eureka IL

Smart, crafty, kind, and loving- 4 words to describe Easterseals Artist, Anna. Anna’s favorite color is purple and she adores unicorns. She can swim like a fish and her favorite thing about Easterseals is doing physical therapy in the warm water therapy pool. Because of the co-vid, Anna has been using telehealth, and though she misses the pool, nothing is getting in the way of her reaching her goals. In the last few months, Anna has been working on her balance and is now able to stand on one foot. Annalise would like everyone to be happy, and she enjoys ensuring that everyone is smiling.

Avah W. (age 10) Normal IL_

“Spreading Kindness Like Confetti”.

 The title of Avah’s beautiful piece-says it all. Full of joy, Avah is in 5^th grade this year, and spreading sunshine to those around her, just comes naturally. She is a confident, hard worker and dreams of having a career as an Art teacher one day, but for now she continues to paint with passion. In the past year, Avah has made progress in speech and occupational therapy. She is now able to answer more complex questions accurately and has worked hard on her handwriting skills.

Chase D. (Age 9) Pekin IL

A lover of all things video games, Chase loves to play Mario games. Recently Chase was able save up all of his chore money to get his very own Nintendo Switch, something he is very proud of. When not playing video games, he loves to draw and play the keyboard. In fact, he had a shining moment performing live on the Easterseals Telethon this past year. Chase is determined and works hard in Occupational Therapy on his communication skills and focusing on tasks.

Elijah S. (Age 7) Morton IL

The colorful spirit of Elijah, is reflected in the joy of his artwork. Elijah loves to be outside as riding his bike and playing at the park are some of his favorite things in the world-besides the color green of course. Born at 25 weeks, Elijah has been a fighter since he was born, and his family is proud of his never give up attitude. With the help of Occupational therapy Elijah has learned how better understand his emotions and which emotions are appropriate for certain situations.

Ethan H. (Age 4) Morton, IL

Ethan has a huge heart! Ethan will show his love by giving a hug, or by taking your hand to run the yard as fast as he can. Ethan loves anything outside, and his favorite thing to do right now is go on bear hunts! Ethan’s are is really cool in that he uses colors to show the energy he feels when doing or describing certain things. Easterseals has given Ethan the tools to effectively navigate his need for sensory input. When Ethan started occupational therapy at Easterseals, he couldn’t stand to be hugged or cuddle and now he is a big snuggle bug!

Isaac S. (Age 6) Morton IL

Meet music lover, Isaac!,- but don’t be fooled, he is very particular about who and what he listens too. Isaac is recording artist Charlie Puth’s biggest fan! Along with jamming out to his favorite tunes, Isaac likes swimming and swinging- he even has a swing in him room. Like his brother Elijah, Isaac shares the strength of never giving up. In occupational therapy Isaac is working on his strength and activating toys that require pressure! This past year, he met is goal of being able to activate “The Gumball Toy” all by himself. In fact, with some of the skills he has practiced in OT, Isaac was excited to draw his piece titled “Celebrate Love”, all by himself.

Jordan R. (Age 9) Peoria IL

Calling all sports fans, Jordan is your guy! Jordan is a big fan of the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Bulls basketball. Jordan also enjoys books, video games and of course coloring. One of his biggest talents however, is capturing an audience with his storytelling. Jordan loves to make people smile, and can sometimes leave people on the edge of their seats with enjoyment. Mom says Jordan is a “natural” at keeping a crowd engaged. Easterseals helps Jordan understand and regulate his emotions.

Kamari P. (Age 8) Pekin IL

Kamari is very witty and always has something clever to say. His family calls them “Kamari-isms.” He has a great sense of humor and a one-of-a-kind personality that is loved by all. Kamari enjoys baseball, basketball and floor hocky, and when not on the move, he enjoys collecting toy cars and watching nascar. Mom says he would live off of twizzlers if given the chance. Some Kamari’s biggest accomplishments since coming to Easterseals include tying his shoe independently, learning how to advocate for himself and effectively communicate his needs.

Larkin H. (Age 6) Pekin IL

Larkin is open and innately happy.

Larkin is a sprinkle of goodness in everything that she is, and she has spread joy to far reaching places. She is curious and silly and has a beautiful imagination. Larkin is a talented singer, and pretend play is one of her favorite things. Art is definitely a strength of Larkins, and it provides a wonderful opportunity for her imagination to come life. With the help of Easterseals Larkin is able to communicate more effectively with those around her. “With Easterseals’ guidance, her light isn’t being snuffed out but spotlighted.”

Reece K. (Age 7) Normal IL

Reece never stops smiling, and cares about others more than himself, and brings joy to everyone around him. Reece enjoys anything with rolling wheels including firetrucks and trains, and the color green is his absolute favorite. He is also a Godzilla fan, and likes the 3-D world of Roblox.When Reece started at he was completely unable to communicate verbally. In the Past year, Reece has made huge progress in being able to talk to his friends all by himself. He is also now able to ask and answer questions regularly.

When our 28 students at the Easterseals Learning Academy returned to school for the first time since March, they were greeted with a wonderful surprise.

Their outside patio had been transformed into a bright, colorful Sensory Garden! This active, outdoor space, made possible by a small grant from PNC, was designed to create a multi-sensory experience for students and to enhance their learning environment. Filled with artwork created by Teacher’s Aide and free-hand artist Niccole Maloney, the garden’s vibrant multi-colored flowers, insects and giant bird promote visual stimulation and help students with their social emotional development.

Our friend friend, Tana (pictured above), loves going down the slide and blowing bubbles. This sensory garden allows her to flourish in an environment that is safe, educational AND fun. So far, she has enjoyed hopping on the hopscotch while her teachers count the numbers, bouncing on the tires and, of course, sitting on the slide and blowing bubbles.

Her teachers share: “Tana is a cause and effect girl. There is a big wind tunnel in the small corridor where [the playground is]. I believe she might be using the wind for better bubbles, which is why she is drawn to this area.”

According to Andrea Hartnett, Director of the Easterseals Learning Academy, “This is a huge asset to our program that we continue to build and expand upon… We now have three spaces to use outdoors, which has given us more options to educate students outside as recommended by the State Board of Education. The Sensory Garden is just another example of how we can meet the students’ needs.”

In addition to the PNC First Grant, several donors including Barr Landscaping, Born Paint, Ace Hardware, and many others came together and made this garden such a special escape for our students. To see the impact that this garden has on the Easterseals Learning Academy students, you need to look no further than the expression of true joy on Tana’s face below.

Just as small acts of kindness made this garden possible, YOU too can make a meaningful impact for kids and families at Easterseals by becoming a Milestone Maker. Through an automatically recurring monthly donation of $10, $15 or $20, your support adds up to make a big difference, especially as the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact our organization and our community.

Passage to India is an annual celebration benefitting Easterseals, typically held at the Peoria Civic Center that is widely recognized as a premier cultural event in Central Illinois. This year, due to the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing guidelines, we pivoted to a virtual event, titling this year’s celebration “A Cultural Feast At Home”. This new approach provided guests with an authentic and unique cultural experience from the comforts of their own home, benefitting Easterseals Central Illinois.

Thanks to the generosity of the restaurant Indian Tadka and our Passage to India Culinary Committee, participants received a delicious meal to be enjoyed in their own homes. In addition to the authentic cuisine, participants were also able to view a life virtual program featuring traditional Indian music, an exciting dance performance, presentation of the prestigious Banyan Tree award, and a fashion show featuring several Easterseal Ambassador Families.

Longtime volunteer and owner of PJ Dance Academy, Prasanna Jeer, choreographed a fashion show featuring several past and present Easterseals Ambassadors. The full fashion show can be viewed here:

We also enjoyed live performances from musicians across the country! Indro Roy-Chowdhury, an international artist, played the Sitar live from New York City. We were also joined live from Los Angeles by Suman Laha. Laha plays the Veena (a stringed instrument) and has earned an international reputation of considerable distinction in the world of Indian Classical Music. We were also joined locally by Manpreet Bedi and Subhasis Mukherjee who both played the Tabla.

We were thrilled to present the Banyan Tree Award to two very deserving winners, Rajiv L. Gupta and Dr. Mehmood Khan.

To view the musicians’ performances and watch remarks made by the Banyan Tree awardees, watch below.

Thank you to everyone who made Virtual Passage a tremendous success! We look forward to seeing everyone in person next year at the 15th Annual Passage to India.

To stay up to date on what events we have coming up, visit eastersealsci.com/events.

Sometimes it just takes one person to inspire you to chase your dreams.

That was the case for Jill Maglio-Ryan.

Born in Sheffield, IL, Jill was a hairdresser who owned and operated a salon out of her home. When she became pregnant and gave birth to her daughter, Meghann (or Meghann Marie as her mom called her), working from home made things a lot easier. However, when Meghann was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at 11 months old, Jill realized even more how incredibly grateful she was for her ability to work her own hours and be available to spend time with her daughter.

In their community, Meghann was the only person with a disability, and as a 24 year old, Jill knew she needed to make sure her daughter received services that would help her live independently. Shortly after they received the diagnosis, Meghann began receiving services from Easterseals, including physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. While working on her fine motor skills, Meghann discovered a love of puzzles. In fact, after a few years it became hard for anyone to give her a puzzle that she did not already have. She also loved swimming, and enjoyed spending time socializing with clients in her mom’s salon.

“She had a really good personality, and a beautiful smile. She was so happy and content. She had a good life with a lot of friends, and was spoiled rotten in my salon by people,” shared Jill.

In their town, Meghann raised a lot of awareness for people with disabilities.

“[People in our town] didn’t realize what CP or a disability was and she made it okay. She made people feel like it was okay to approach her, kids especially. She raised a lot of awareness without even really knowing she was doing it,” stated Jill.

After Meghann graduated from high school, Jill decided to get her Associate’s degree in Liberal Arts from Blackhawk College.

Jill shares that “writing was something I always thought about doing, but it wasn’t until the first time I took [Meghann] to the Sheffield Library I realized there weren’t many books about children with special needs.”

She kept this idea in the back of her head and went on, busy with life and work. When she went back to school, she started writing a blog and talking about her experiences with Meghann to give people an idea of what their everyday looked like.

Meghann passed away on May 24, 2018, and Jill states that this loss inspired her more than ever to write about people who make their dreams come true regardless of differing abilities.

Currently, Jill has two books published: Meggeriffic: Cuz, I Can and Meggeriffic: The Girl with Gills.

“I knew I wanted to write a story about Meg and that I wanted it to be a book that kids could read regardless of whether or not they had a disability. To show kids that it doesn’t matter what you can’t do, but that we all have dreams. It’s about trying your best and trying to find that dream and go for it,” shared Jill.

Jill currently has two more books in the works – one scheduled to be release around Christmas of this year on the topic of bullying, and another Meggeriffic for 2021 all about adventure.

She shares that for her family, Easterseals helped Meghann gain the skills she needed to be independent and chase her own adventures.

“All the services Easterseals offers are one step closer for children with differing abilities to become independent. The long-term effect of donating to Easterseals now and investing in our children with differing abilities at a young age is gonna pay off for them in the long run,” shared Jill.

To learn more about Jill and Meggeriffic, you can follow her Facebook page, her blog and her author’s Amazon page.

We are so thankful to Jill for sharing her story, and for using her talents and creativity to spread awareness of those with differing abilities. She is truly helping to create a world where all children are 100% Included, 100% Empowered.

CORE Construction. has been a long supporter of Easterseals Central Illinois, with an incredible 25 years of giving. Recently, President Tim Erickson saw a great need and acted swiftly and selflessly to fill it. CORE donated hand sanitizer and antibacterial wipes to Easterseals, filling a need that extends well beyond financial support.

“There are different things [face masks, hand sanitizer, wipes] that are hard to find that we have been able to get. Hearing that Easterseals had a need for these items, we knew we could help connect the dots. By donating these items, we know that Easterseals can use their money to buy other things,” shares Tim.

CORE initially began supporting Easterseals under the leadership of Wayne Baum whose love of his community cemented a culture of giving within his organization. When it became time for him to pass the baton, he saw Tim’s passion for philanthropy and connected him to Easterseals. Under Tim’s leadership, CORE has been a huge supporter of the Easterseals Telethon, organizing staff fundraisers and uniting CORE around a common goal.
Tim states that “we [at CORE] are lucky to be in a position where we can do these things to help the community. There are a lot of people and organizations who need help, and this is the culture that has been set in our company. We want to help people.”

Tim shared with us that his personal mission in life is helping people, and doing his part to make a difference in the lives of others. He also mentions his affinity for Easterseals Timber Pointe Outdoor Center, citing it as a “gem”, and stating that one of his favorite memories as a board member was going out to camp and watching the campers swing and go down the zip line.

His message for potential supporters? “Come and see what’s going on. They need to visit Easterseals. They need to visit Timber Pointe and see what it is, what it does and how much it means for the kids. When I went to Easterseals for my first tour, [Easterseals Ambassador] Hayden was there, and hearing his story and seeing his enthusiasm – that’s what people need to do. Come and see for themselves what we do and how we make a difference.”

Thank you Tim, and the team at CORE Construction, for all that you do.

Learn more about CORE Construction here.

Life is a party – Dress like it!

That is the theme for this year’s Easterseals Ladies Auxiliary Fashion Show! An event which started in 1955 as a small fashion show with just over 100 people in attendance, has grown into a fundraiser that raised $40,000 last year to benefit the children of Easterseals Central Illinois. The first fashion show fundraiser was held at the Peoria Country Club in 1955, when a small group of women recognized a need to help children with disabilities receive necessary therapy services. Today, Easterseals Ladies Auxiliary is made up of an outstanding group of women who are not only friends, but teammates in their efforts to raise funds for Easterseals.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Easterseals Ladies Auxiliary has shifted their in-person fashion show celebrating local businesses to a virtual runway walk! Viewers will enjoy this season’s latest trends from businesses like A Perfect Pear Boutique, Curvology, Rambler, RC Outfitters and more. Viewers will also get to know several past and present Easterseals Ambassadors. One of these amazing past Ambassadors is our friend Brevyn.

Brevyn is 8-years-old now, and still remembers receiving Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Counseling service from Easterseals nearly five years ago. Brevyn was referred to Easterseals after being diagnose with Right Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy. Her mom, Johanna, shares that almost immediately after starting at Easterseals it was as if all of the pieces of the puzzle came together for Brevyn.

Currently, Brevyn plays softball, participates in hip hop, jazz, tap & ballet, does tumbling, and also enjoys riding her bike, swimming, jumping and going to the park. Through her hard work at Easterseals, Brevyn has gained the skills and confidence needed to chase all of her dreams. During the Virtual Fashion Show on July 31, viewers will see Brevyn perform one of her tumbling routines, as well as meet several other ambassador families who are currently chasing and living out their dreams with help from Easterseals.

For more information on the Virtual Fashion Show, visit eastersealsci.com/events.

Earlier this month, a teenager with an autism was attacked by peers in her hometown. As we strive to create a world where every child is 100% Included and 100% Empowered, we released the following statement in order to provide support for Makenna and education for our community.

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­The vision of Easterseals Central Illinois is to ensure that every child is 100% included and 100% empowered. As the leading provider of services and supports to families living with autism, we all too often see them suffer the painful isolation of being excluded, misunderstood and mistreated.

 We are not only a resource for the families we serve, but we are here for our community. Our advocacy and awareness programs are available for families, schools, community groups, first responders and workplaces. Using our virtual Ability Awareness Program, we encourage families can take action today by educating their children on what makes everyone unique, and how to celebrate differences.

Autism currently impacts 1 in 54 children. It is estimated that over 7,000 children with autism live right here in central Illinois. Together, we can do better.

At Easterseals, we have the privilege of meeting amazing families in our community. We are also incredibly fortunate to have friends and families who use their time, energy and resources to fundraise for our organization.

Rock the Farm is an annual concert that Team Alex organizes, with proceeds from the event benefitting Easterseals. Typically held at Mackinaw Valley Winery, the event has transitioned to a virtual live stream from Bloomington’s Castle Theatre. Participants can stream the concert featuring the Way Down Wanderers and Chicago from the comfort of their homes.

Team Alex fundraises in honor of a very special boy – Alex Camacho! Alex is 13 now, and began receiving services from Easterseals when he was 5-months-old. Team Alex shares that during his time at Easterseals, he has made great strides and reached milestones through feeding & speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy and more.

While working through an initial diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy, Alex’s family noticed that he was having trouble with his vision, and at 7-months-old, Alex was diagnosed with Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI). CVI is a neurological visual impairment, meaning the eyes are able to see, but the brain is not interpreting what is being seen. CVI is the leading cause of blindness in children in the developed world, but is treatable with therapeutic intervention. While treatment or CVI is known, it is not widely available.

All proceeds from Rock the Farm support Easterseals Central Illinois, benefitting Alex and many other children and families in our community. With the funds raised over the seven years of Rock the Farm, Easterseals is launching The Alex Center for CVI, which will begin its first clinics later this year.

This Friday, June 19 at 7 p.m., Rock the Farm will be live streamed from the Castle Theatre in Bloomington and will feature performances from The Way Down Wanderers & Chicago Farmer with special guests The Home Fires. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at www.GoTeamAlex.com.