The Give Back Girls

The Girls talk to Kate Burcham and Shannon Smith from Lilac Rising, a new non-profit in McLean County, focused on providing women with short term assistance, scholarships, and connections to other longer-term resources if needed. If you or someone you know could use some help or you would like to donate time, services, or money, be sure to check out the resources available at lilacrising.org

The Give Back Girls are thrilled to welcome Jackie Gunderson, the Executive Director at The Penguin Project of McLean County, and Georgia, a young artist with The Penguin Project!Every year, The Penguin Project puts on a theater production where all of the roles are filled by children and young adults with developmental disabilities including Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism, intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, visual impairment, hearing impairment, and other disorders. They are joined on stage by their “peer mentors,” a group of young people who have volunteered to work with them side-by-side and guide them through 4 months of rehearsals and to the final production.If you or someone you know would like to participate in The Penguin Project as an artist or a peer mentor, visit https://www.penguinprojectmclean.org/Be sure to get your tickets for The Addams Family, June 4-7, at U-High’s Stroud Auditorium!

Join The Give Back Girls as they talk to Hilary Pacha from One Hope Project! One Hope Project’s mission is to walk alongside clients on their journey to recovery from eating disorders through education, intervention, and treatment, and we learned so much from Hilary about eating disorders and the opportunities One Hope provides.If you or someone you know needs help from One Hope or would like to volunteer, head out to their website at onehopeproject.org

Join the Give Back Girls as they learn about Strong Towns BloNo from their President, Noah Tang! If you’re interested in helping Strong Towns make our community work better for all of us, consider attending a meeting or work day… learn more at https://strongtownsblono.com/

Happy New Year from The Give Back Girls! Check out our surprise end of year wrap-up and some of our plans for 2026! If you have feedback for us or know a non-profit you think might be interested in being featured on an upcoming episode, please contact us at [email protected]! Best wishes for a healthy and happy 2026!

Join Anita and Toria as they learn more about the evolution of the United Way of McLean County from their President, David Taylor. To learn more about the services available in McLean County via the United Way, please visit: https://uwmclean.org/and if you or someone you know is interested in the Workforce 180 program, please go tohttps://uwmclean.org/our-solutions/workforce180

Toria and Anita talk to Chris Terven, President - Board of Governors of the Community Players Theatre and learn how a show gets to the stage, a little about the upcoming renovations of the Community Players Theater, and get an inside look at the innovative 2025-26 season!

Join the girls as they learn about 123 years of The Baby Fold history, some of the key efforts they are currently engaged in, and hear about the upcoming Festival of Trees and how you can get engaged! Learn more about the Baby Fold at: https://www.thebabyfold.org/And get your Festival of Trees tickets now; you and your family won’t want to miss this Bloomington-Normal holiday tradition!https://www.thebabyfold.org/festivaloftrees

Listen in as Anita and Toria talk with Mary Pille, President of Junior Achievement of Central Illinois, and learn about the fantastic programs included in Junior Achievement to help young people develop financial literacy, establish work and career readiness, and entrepreneurship. To learn more about Junior Achievement, the programs available, and upcoming events, please visit: https://centralillinois.ja.org/ If you’re interested in volunteering with Junior Achievement, check out JA Engage for the types of opportunities available: https://jausa.ja.org/volunteer/ For anyone who is interested in some Junior Achievement programs, but they aren’t currently in your school, learning pathways are available at JA Connect: https://connect.ja.org/

Toria and Anita learn about the National Organization of Women (NOW) and our local chapter, Normal NOW! Lindsey Delahunt, President of Normal NOW, shares the goals of her new organization and talks about the importance of community for women. After you listen, be sure to learn more at https://www.normalnow.net/ or check them out on Facebook.

Join Toria and Anita as they talk to Mary Campbell, Director of Dreams are Possible. Dreams are Possible offers classes to women and non-binary people, providing them with the knowledge and tools to build their confidence and prepare them for living wage jobs and dignity in an inclusive workplace. To learn more about the classes offered, please visit https://dreamsarepossible.org/

Join Toria and Anita as they sit down with Nicole Watts and Robin Ambrose from the Humane Society of Central Illinois! Make sure you check out http://www.hscipets.org to continue learning about the HSCI, meet pets available for adoption, and check out how you can give back!! You can also visit the Humane Society of Central Illinois on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hscipets/

Anita and Toria sit down with Mark Adams with the Bloomington-Normal Community Land Trust. This organization is working to acquire and rehabilitate homes and pair them with people in need of housing.If you would like to learn more, want to donate, or are in need of housing, please head to blonoclt.org for more information!

Anita and Toria talk with the President of the St. Patrick’s of Merna conference of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Chris Kornfeld, about their work to help people in need pay rent and utilities. To request assistance from the St. Vincent de Paul Society, please call 309-264-5815 or go to https://svdpbn.com.

Toria and Anita talk with Robert Bosquez about the Bed Blitz program, supplying beds for kids (5-18) in the Bloomington-Normal area who may not have access to one. After you check out this episode, be sure to head to the Bed Blitz site to learn more about the services they provide and how to apply or volunteer. And while you’re there, take a look at all the fantastic programs the West Bloomington Revitalization Project (WBRP) has to offer our community!

Toria and Anita talk to Mendy Smith and Jaime Russell from Brightpoint! Brightpoint, formerly Children’s Home and Aid, has been operating in Illinois since 1883 and offers amazing support to families and children in McLean County and beyond. After you check out this episode, be sure to head to brightpoint.org to learn more about the services they provide!

In the first episode of The Give Back Girls, Toria and Anita introduce the podcast and have a conversation with Marie Eledge, founder of 100 Women For Good Bloomington-Normal.