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.