PEORIA, Ill. – The Community Foundation of Central Illinois is busy giving big checks to charitable organizations.
This week, the organization has given grants to LifeLine Pilots and the Central Illinois Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
A ceremony was held at the CICBVI center in South Peoria on Tuesday to present a $10,000 grant to help purchase a third vehicle.
CICBVI Operations Manager Paula Balistreri says it will go a long way in serving those they provide transportation to, and get them to their destinations faster.
“The people that we serve are all over Peoria,” Balistreri said. “So we could very well be going to Pekin to far north Peoria for one event in the middle of town. And that means that somebody is sitting on that bus, or in that vehicle for an hour, or more. Just to get here for lunch or training or whatever it might be.”
Balistreri says they serve, on average, 20-40 people per event they provide transportation to. She says the group will be looking for a vehicle that seats 8-10 people.
CFCI CEO Mark Roberts says he enjoys seeing the groups they help out up-close.
“To see the tangible impact of what we get to do everyday at the Community Foundation, is really gratifying to us,” Roberts said. “And so it’s nice to be able to hear with this group, watching them enjoy themselves, knowing the excitement they have about the new transportation that they’re going to be able to provide, this is what it’s all about.”
Roberts says the foundation gives grants to a wide range of groups, including for the arts, scholarships, and social services. He says, so far, in their fiscal year, the foundation has given out around $3 million.
