It’s time to party! The Black and Blue Ball is heading into its 18^th year with a fun remix on Friday, February 3, 2023, at the Peoria Civic Center. The party begins at 5:30pm. We are excited to present Club Black and Blue to our guests this year. Featuring your favorite DJs Red Hot Brian Scott from Z92.3 and Matt Bahan from 105.7 X. Get ready to dance as they fire off non-stop hits rock, pop, country, and everything in-between!

The Black and Blue Ball has raised well over one million dollars for Easterseals Central Illinois. The Black and Blue Ball continues to be unique from other traditional fundraising events – creating an atmosphere geared towards the young and young-at-heart professionals. We are ready to throw on our black tie – blue jean attire and have a ball for the kids and families of Easterseals!

Tickets are $125 per person or $1,250 for a table of 10. Ticket prices increase on January 1, 2023, so get your tables today! Sponsorships start at $2,500.

This year we are excited to offer an upgraded VIP experience that can be added for sponsors! Learn more at Eastersealsci.com/BlackandBlue

Sponsorships are now available by contacting Danielle Easton at Deaston@eastersealsci.com or (309)687-2022. Tickets are on sale now! Stay up to date on all things Black & Blue by following is on Facebook @ESBlackBlue or visit Easterseals Central Illinois | Black & Blue Ball.

Pediatric therapy is designed to be fun. Our rooms are filled with toys, games, and sensory activities. While we do have a small budget to update our items, a majority of our resources are donated by generous families and supporters. Some of our items have been in our therapy rooms for decades. Generations of children have utilized the same toys and games to reach their milestones.

During the season of giving, we know many of you are looking for ways to make an impact. We asked our Occupational Therapy team to share some of their most needed items. If you are looking for a way to give back, and make a big impact- please consider donating items from our wish list!

Click here to view our full Amazon wishlist or check out our switch toys below.

Dylan is extraordinary. 

He has one of only 2,500 known cases of Phelan-McDermid Syndrome (PMS). This rare genetic disorder often causes speech and developmental delays, as well as autism spectrum disorder. Dylan began showing symptoms early on, walking much later than the average toddler and experiencing significant speech delays.

A few days before his first birthday, a specialist confirmed that he has autism. Three weeks later, he was diagnosed with PMS.

Dylan has low muscle tone, which slows his physical development and impacts his language and communication skills. While there is no cure, physical therapy and occupational therapy help. Dylan has a high tolerance for pain and, like others with PMS, the tendency to overheat. Coupled with his communication challenges, it can be hard to know if he is in pain and needs help. He also struggles with sleep. A sleepless Dylan means sleepless nights for mom and dad.

Raising a child with a rare disease isn’t easy. There’s stress, worry, exhaustion, but also an enduring love that helps families keep going. And thanks to donors like you, there’s Easterseals Central Illinois.

Thanks to support from generous donors like you, Dylan visits our Peoria Service Center 3 times a week where he receives speech therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy. He is making great progress and his family is grateful for the support.

Learning to walk is a fundamental milestone for all children.  Some children, however, need some additional help reaching this milestone.  Easterseals’ LiteGait program is designed to help children learn (or re-learn) to walk more easily, faster, and with more confidence.   The LiteGait system addresses the needs of children learning or re-learning to walk through a specialized body-weight support system that provides a safe, supported environment where children can learn (or relearn, in the case of injury or surgery) basic walking skills.  Thanks to a grant from the Community Foundation of Central Illinois in the amount of $12,500, we can purchase this system to assist the children in Central Illinois in reaching this important milestone.

It uses a mechanical system and a harness to support the individual and control balance and posture over a treadmill or over the ground. Using the LiteGait over a treadmill allows clients to practice walking over an “endless walkway”. The therapist doesn’t have to worry about having to stop a child’s walking because they came to the end of a hallway and now have to turn around or worry about balance.

Using the harness, the child is totally supported, so there is no risk of falling. The LiteGait provides therapists with an extra set of hands during therapy sessions. In this way, the therapist can assist with the child’s leg movement over a longer distance and for a longer period of time.

The child gets to practice walking in a way that cannot be done without this support. Essentially, they can walk farther and faster when supported over the treadmill than they can otherwise. This helps children progress to walking with a walker, or alone if possible, recover from surgery or injury, or build endurance. It can also improve their gait patterns, so they can walk with better balance and control. Medical research supports the use of body weight-supported gait training for children with cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome, and children and adults with various conditions and disabilities.

We are so excited to see our space in the Bloomington-Normal YMCA filling up! It is starting to feel like home. We are looking forward to seeing our children and families in this new space soon!