General Resources
The Chicago Lighthouse is a social service organization serving the blind, visually impaired, disabled and veteran communities. It provides vision rehabilitation services, education, employment opportunities and assistive technology for people of all ages throughout Chicagoland. It also provides national and statewide resources for college, brailler repair, employment, recreation, service animals and more.
The organization’s Lader Family Scholarship Program is open to Illinois residents who are blind or visually impaired, as well as Chicago Lighthouse employees who are blind, visually impaired, have another disability or are veterans. You can learn more about the Lader Family Scholarship and other scholarship opportunities on the Chicago Lighthouse website.
The Colette Louise Tisdahl Foundation
The Colette Louise Tisdahl Foundation provides support and financial help to families in crisis due to pregnancy complications, premature birth/neonatal intensive care unit stay and loss. This financial assistance may help cover:
- Childcare
- Medical bills
- Transportation costs
- Rent/mortgage and utilities
- Post-loss/funeral/burial expenses
- Grief counseling (individual, couple and family)
Visit the Colette Louise Tisdahl Foundation website for more details.
The Diaper Bank of Southern Illinois
The Diaper Bank of Southern Illinois serves as a central location to collect and store donated diapers. The Diaper Bank partners with local service agencies to distribute diapers to low-income children and their families.
To request diapers, the Diaper Bank of Southern Illinois requires that the agency has an ongoing relationship with the client and has screened for need. Agencies may contact diaperbanksi@gmail.com or call (618) 549-2148, ext. 110.
The Dream Factory is a volunteer-driven children’s wish-granting organization. Volunteers raise funds in their communities to grant dreams to local children ages 3 through 18 who have a life-threatening illness or are critically and chronically ill. Dreams are granted through local chapters. Referrals can be made by:
- A parent or legal guardian of an ill child
- A treating physician of an ill child
- The ill child
In Illinois, contact the Dream Factory of Central Illinois at centralillinois@dreamfactoryinc.org. You can find other local chapters on the Dream Factory website.
The Guthrie-Koch Scholarship for Individuals with Certain Metabolic Disorders
The Guthrie-Koch Scholarship from flok is for individuals with one of several metabolic disorders. The scholarship is for students demonstrating character, academic achievement and engagement with their community, and who are pursuing post-secondary educational or vocational opportunities. Students from any country can apply. Scholarship applications open by mid-December each year. Applications are due in mid-March.
To be eligible for the scholarship, applicants must have one of these metabolic disorders:
- Classical HCU
- Maple Syrup Urine Disease (MSUD)
- An Organic Acidemia
- Phenylketonuria (PKU)
- Tyrosinemia
- Urea Cycle Disorder (UCD)
The Immigration Project provides individual attorney consultations and evaluations in Spanish and English on immigration issues in central and southern Illinois. Immigration attorneys and specialists travel to meet with clients in seven regional locations throughout downstate Illinois. They also have offices in Normal and Champaign.
The Immigration Project has a Facebook page and may be reached at (309) 829-8703 or info@immigrationproject.org.
The Neighbor Project (TNP) is a nonprofit, HUD-Certified Housing Counseling Agency dedicated to helping low to moderate-income families in Aurora reduce debt, build credit, save and ultimately buy their first homes.
The Painted Turtle Overnight Camp for Children with Serious Medical Conditions
The Painted Turtle is a year-round, overnight camp in California for children ages 7 to 17 with a variety of serious medical conditions, their siblings and family members. Condition-specific camp sessions and family weekends (for children ages 6 to 17) aim to encourage children to try new things and develop lasting friendships. Campers and their families attend free of charge.
The camp has a full-time medical staff, a health center and a physician onsite at all times. The Painted Turtle provides camper eligibility guidelines and medical criteria to help determine the best session for your child and family.
The Penguin Project provides a supportive environment for children with a wide range of disabilities to explore the performing arts. The program encourages children and young adults ages 10 to 24 to discover their creative talents, build self-confidence and make new friends by rehearsing and performing a modified version of a well-known Broadway musical. The young artists work side-by-side with age-level “peer mentors” through four months of rehearsals and the final performance.
The project has several chapters in Illinois. Visit The Penguin Project website for more details.
The Salvation Army St. Clair County
The Salvation Army St. Clair County provides a variety of programs and services to help individuals and families remove barriers, build job skills, find childcare and remain in their homes. It offers:
- After-school programs where youth and teens have a safe place to complete homework, learn new skills and relax with friends
- Pathway to Hope program that helps families identify barriers and address them by connecting with community support organizations and more
- Homelessness prevention services
- Emergency help with rent/mortgage, utility bills and other needs to keep families in their homes