Join the Give Back Girls as they talk to Rebecca Impens, the Deputy Director of Communication and Stewardship of Best Buddies International.

Best Buddies Illinois is about creating opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development, inclusive living, and family support for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

Best Buddies is the largest organization dedicated to ending the social, physical and economic isolation of the millions of people worldwide with IDDs.

If you or someone you know has an IDD who could use additional community and support or you’d like to volunteer, head to https://www.bestbuddies.org/illinois/ to learn more about the available programs and how to get involved!

Toria and Anita are excited to introduce Shelley Leman, the Founder & Executive Director of Joshua Tree Ministries. Joshua Tree exists to help break families out of generational poverty, and one of their avenues to help is through the establishment of a non-profit daycare in Bloomington. Check out https://joshuatreeministries.org/ to learn more about the planned childcare center, join the waitlist for a place in the daycare, or about volunteer opportunities, and make sure you’re checking out the Annual Golf Outing fundraiser on June 27th!

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 feedback@thegivebackgirls.com! 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 to

https://uwmclean.org/our-solutions/workforce180