- [Christine Zak-Edmonds] Will you consider this?

We have an organization that recognizes the generous people in central Illinois.

It raises funds to make our home better and it builds from there.

(bright upbeat music) What can be better than capturing the spirit of Coretta Scott King's thoughts?

That the greatness of a community is mostly accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.

A young nonprofit helps to build on what our community already has, and Build Peoria is going strong.

I am Christine Zak-Edmonds, and with me is the Build Peoria founder, Nick Yates joined by Hedy Elliott and Marcellus Somerville, whose project Potent Gratitude Park recently won funding from Build Peoria.

Welcome you three, the trio.

- [Group] Thank you very much.

- Thanks for being with me.

So let's start out, Nick, and tell me how did Build Peoria come about?

- Yeah, so great question.

We were actually sitting at a Wing Fest.

So if you guys are familiar with Wing Fest down in the river front, we were, we were having some wings and drinking some beer enjoying our Saturday.

And then all of a sudden they came on the, the PA and said, "Hey, congratulations.

We actually raised money for a friendship house".

And it was like, wait a minute.

We came up here to drink beer and eat wings.

And we raised money.

That was pretty fun.

We should do some more of that.

- [Christine] Good idea, right.

- So, so we, we set out to, to become a 501(c)(3).

We, we got about five or six people together and, and did the whole 501(c)(3) thing raised our, our first fundraiser, which was the chili cook-off back in 2017, um, where we had the chili cook-off in Peoria Heights.

And we were able to, to sit there and say, you know, ah we, we built that, right.

We were able to sit there and say that every dollar that, that everybody gave was towards that project.

And, and we were really proud of the dog park that we built there, in Peoria Heights.

- And that was the first one, so all of that money raised it is 501(c)(3) and then you choose which project is going to be.

- That is absolutely right.

So um at, at, Build Peoria we, we believe that our mission is to unite the Peoria area through their love of the Peoria area.

I'm sorry.

Um, our mission is to be able to unite the community, um, through the love of the Peoria area, to be able to physically build it into a better place.

And so we can leave a legacy for future generations.

So, um what we are doing is we are trying to unite the community to, to build it into something better.

And what we are really proud of is that we are actually going to go out to the community and ask them for suggestions on what the next project is going to be.

So, for instance, um, in this case, we had 30 some submissions that came across.

- [Christine] Which is incredible.

- It really is.

- Well how do you decide?

- I know that is really hard.

The, the hard part is we, we get together as a board and say, "Okay, there is 30.

How do we narrow it down to something we can then vote on?"

Um, and so we, we narrowed it down to about 10 and then we went and vetted them all out.

And then we ended up getting it down to four, and then those four were the ones we put out for vote.

- [Christine] Right?

- So then we said that, "Anybody can vote, um, just come to our website, log on and vote for whoever you want to be, to be the next, next Build Peoria project".

- Well, and then we have these Build Peoria winners.

- [Group] That is right.

- And, um, so who wants to tell me first, - [Hedy] Cheers.

- who wants to tell me about Potent Gratitude Park to start with.

- Why I'd be happy to, um, Potent Gratitude Park is off of Martin street right across from the historic Proctor Center, which was built in 1913.

And there is a lot of activity at Proctor Center and the Peoria Park district has done a wonderful job.

Um, keeping the landscape just pristine.

The building is absolutely beautiful.

And if you go directly across the street on Martin, um, we have - [Christine] Light.

- Yes, - [Nick] Mm-hmm (affirmative) - they can houses, um, houses that have been destroyed through, you know, criminal acts, broken windows.

And, um, we really wanted to bring some, some of what Proctor Center has, some of that beauty and, and make sure we are, we are really working on the perimeter of Proctor Center, not just on, on the grounds of Proctor Center.

So we wanted to kind of expand that throughout Martin street and around Proctor and Keitel street.

So that was our mission, and we started at many years ago and we were just, just delighted that we were the winners and can continue this and actually make it really a legacy, which Nick was talking about.

- So Marcellus, how did you get involved in this then?

- Well, I sort of got involved on the ground floor as well.

Just, just having a passion for Peoria It was brung to me by Hedy and Bob Woolsey.

Who is also a part of the project and, and they just basically said, "Hey, we have this project that we want to do.

We have aspirations to build a park, blah, blah, blah.

And I was like, all for it, you know, in a sense that I grew up here in Peoria, I was a kid who used the facility at Proctor and to see Peoria be beautified and, and have some impact in that.

I, I was, sowed, completely sowed, so I'm excited about it and truly grateful for the votes and all that.

So just really excited.

- Good, good.

Well, again, now you, you built with the money that you raised and, and how much do you generally raise?

I mean, is there an average?

- Yeah, I would say on average, it is about 50,000 that we raise every single year and that is what we kind of target for our budgets.

Right.

As we think through it now, um, our second project was the resident officer house sat down on Madison and that exceeded the budget, but luckily enough, yeah.

It turns out that, that building a house is not cheap and it is never on time.

So, (group laughter) those are the two things we learned throughout it all.

And that, and, and, and what we got done was last year in about it was, I can't remember.

It was June, maybe that we actually hand that over to the, to the resident officer, um, that officer Burwell is living there now.

So that's really exciting.

- And things in that neighborhood are going pretty well.

- Yeah, absolutely.

I have not heard the stats.

I have not seen him lately, but from what I saw before the first six months were looking really good.

They were seeing the calls decrease and they were seeing him get in there with the neighborhood.

So it was really exciting.

- All right.

So then year three, and then these guys, you know, you said it started a couple of years ago, so all of a sudden you are starting to listen to what is going on with Build Peoria and coming up with a plan.

So year three was what?

- Ah, year three, we actually built bus shelters.

So we, we built bus shelters around town.

We, we worked with the city link to, to be able to put a couple in um, worked with middle way companies.

They, they were a real testament to, to what they did on the resident officer house.

They said, "We would love to help you guys out with the sculpture or with the, um, with, the - [Christine] Bus shelters.

- The pads for the shelters.

- Exactly.

And then they assembled the bus shelters as well.

So that was pretty exciting.

- All right.

And then these guys they are, they are wheels are turning and then you did year four.

- Uh-huh (affirmative).

And then in year four, we, we actually partnered with Diamond Sculpture Garden.

So the friends of Diamond Sculpture Garden is a group that we are just looking for that, that impetus of like, "Hey, I need something more to get this thing started.

We are, we are missing that fundraising piece to get the, the, the pads down, um, so that they can put art on it.

And what they actually did was they won last year and we were able to raise enough money and get enough installed with, without a bomb.

They were able to install all the pads before the winter, last winter.

And then we were actually able to get one of the, one of the sculptures up already this year.

So we are, we are really excited to see what we can, we can do the rest of the summer, because now is when the fun begins.

Because, you know, as we, we build things, we do not want to take care of them.

No offense.

Right?

It is about, it is about building something that, that, that is, is means something for, for the community, but also means something for somebody else.

We are trying to get people involved in making a difference in the community.

So in this example, I was just joking, but in this example, the Diamond Sculpture team is actually gonna be putting in six sculptures here this summer.

So they are going to be putting them all through Diamond Sculpture Garden.

So it is really a transformed.

- A destination.

- [Nick] That is right.

Absolutely.

- And then you two.

So the, um, Potent Gratitude Park, um there was some pretty tough competition and it was neck and neck, I guess, in, in the end it was, I don't know if there had to be a tie breaker or what, but I mean, one was a community garden, an accessible playground.

And I forget what the fourth one was, - Um, it was the Peoria stadium, - Peoria stadium.

Yeah.

Those are all so very worthy.

So how, how can, how can you compete against that kind of things?

And without saying a lot of prayers?

(group laughter) - Well, we said a lot of prayers (group laughter) - and then some.

- And, then some, you know, just used our resources to share.

Right.

Just share the simple message of what we are trying to do, um, is beautify the area and bring a sense of peace for the community.

- And, I think that is really what we had to do.

We had to not only gather the votes, but tell our story.

And from 11 years ago to now, how this has progressed and is, is getting better and better and be a huge improvement, not only to our neighborhood, but, you know, we believe that our idea will reduce crime in Peoria, really bring a spotlight to the south side, which has been terribly neglected for decades.

So we are hoping more than just our fellowship space and beautifying the neighborhood.

We, we hope that we are inspiring other community organizations to look outside their, their buildings.

They are not, not for profits and say, "Hey, we, we have resources.

We have funding and donors let, let's, let's really help our neighborhood and our neighbors who, who utilize our building and improve the outside as well as inside.

- So will you be part of Build Peoria here in the future, or you already?

Or?

- Well, I do not know.

(group laughter drowns out speaker) - What we are trying to do, and maybe a quick call to action is that all we want to do is get in touch with people, right?

So there is no membership to Build Peoria.

There is no, there is no obligation.

There is no requirement to do anything at Build Peoria.

So all we ask is that people go out to buildpeoria.org and sign up for the email.

So she is, so they are both already on the email.

So they are all right.

- You got them.

- When do you send out, um, any information about, "Hey we are taking applications for these projects that you are dreaming about and when does that word go out and how do people find out about that.

- Yeah.

So, great question.

Because I think what, what we are doing is, is everything is in a yearly basis.

So it's all about today.

Um, you know, here we are, we are a couple of months in to the build now, and hopefully we will be able to show that that we are able to make a difference quickly.

That is coming up here soon.

We are going to have our fundraiser around the, the special fundraiser where we get everybody together and have, um, and have a talk about that.

And then in addition, we are going to have our chili cook-off, coming up soon.

So the reason why I bring that all up is, is June is the, the announcement date.

And then in October, we are going to have, on October 3rd, we are going to have the chili cook-off - [Christine] Where will that be?

- at dozer park.

- [Christine] Again.

- So yeah.

Absolutely.

We, we hope so.

- [Christine] Yeah, yeah fingers crossed.

- We are fighting with post-season right now.

So, um, we are, we do not know what is going to happen with that.

So, um, what we will do is, um we will, we will figure out other venue if we, if we have to, but October 3rd is going to be the date for that.

And then ultimately what we are talking about is that we are going to fundraise from, from June, until June.

So, so it is going to be one year.

So, um, rewind about April of next year, we are going to be asking for people's ideas so that we can then vote on them in May.

- Alright, now the chili cook-off so I went to the one, the one at Belga Park.

And all of that food is, is that is donated.

- [Nick] Absolutely.

- Right.

- That is our, our biggest, our biggest fundraiser is that the restaurants come to us and they say, "Hey, we like what you're doing.

We want to help as well".

So they come and they donate their food.

And then there is a little bit of pride there, I think on who gets first and second as well.

- [Christine] Right, that is actually pretty good.

But everybody is there and they all know they make a difference, which is the goal of the event is you know, we want to be able to say that we helped change or build Peoria into a better place.

Right.

And, and everybody is excited about.

- Right.

Well, I think you also added a little rebuilt Peoria and areas, so, and you grew up here, you grew up here, and you can see, um, how some things have gone down.

Some things have gone up, but, and, and that you are able to make a difference.

So any other projects that you have in the back of your mind that you might want to come forward with?

Not necessarily with Hedy and Bob?

- No, not, not currently.

You know, I am also the executive director at Fury Friendship House.

And of course, thinking about future for that area, along with Kim Blickenstaff and those guys, and, you know, the development behind what they're doing.

So, of course we have some things that we foresee possibly happening in the future for a Peoria friendship house, but it is still in the thought process or dream process.

- Okay well, people find out about your involvement here and you are toast.

(group laughter drowns out speaker) - You're going all the way up from there.

How about you Hedy?

- Well, I usually focus on the south side of Peoria.

I am in this role, I am the president of friends of Proctor Center.

And my late father Royce Elliot, would play fast pitch outside.

And my youngest brother, Brett and I, we were in nursery school in the early 1970s at Proctor centers.

We, we love Procter.

We loved the area.

I, all my life work is on the south side of Peoria.

And so I, I envisioned lots of different ideas and future ideas to improve the south side of Peoria.

- Well, with 30.

Is that the most ideas that you had the moment?

- Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah.

We sell, we sell all kinds of records this year.

We had, we had 30 records that they came or 30 ideas that came in and we had almost 4,000 votes.

So it was really exciting to see that there is 4,000 Peorians out there that say, "I care enough about Peoria to go out, and to Build Peoria's website and vote.

Right.

- You know, the, the, the, the reality is if 4,000 people would come together and donate $10, that is 40 grand like that.

Right?

That, that to me is, is all inspiring.

Because, if we get to a point where our goal is that we, we believe that the future of fundraising is not about finding 10 people donate $10,000, but how do we find, you know, 4,000 people to donate $10.

Right?

- And that makes it affordable.

So that is your appeal.

- We think that we can unite the community that the younger generation in philanthropy.

Right?

- [Christine] A few millennials?

(group laughter) - We are not right?

- That is right.

- But you are, and you are on the cusp.

- That is right.

- That is right.

That is right.

So we are, we are excited about what we are able to get done.

- Because you make it doable.

What, what, I mean, you have had winners um, five now, altogether.

Is there any really unusual ideas that come forward that you go, "Wow, how come I didn't think of that?"

- Yeah, absolutely.

So we will start with a bit of a joke is fix all the potholes that, that comes across every year.

Right?

Is how do we fix the potholes?

- [Christine] It's pretty legit.

Okay.

- It is a legit one.

Right?

- Then we had one this year that said, "Hey, we are going to go plant plants in every pothole in Peoria".

And I was like, "Okay, that is interesting idea".

(group laughter drowns out speaker) - Then we do not have to pay for tires.

Alright.

- Yeah.

But there is some that are, that are, you know, like outlandish of, of ideas we do not even want to talk about.

But, but th-those are the fun ones, that I have come across is actually around the potholes.

- And these are all non-profits that are coming to you for these projects, or not?

- No, it could be anybody.

Right?

It could be a non-profit, or it could be a, a person that just has an idea.

We had one that was submitted this year, that, "Hey," it said, "Hey, I heard about this project.

Could you go check it out?"

And that was one of the ones that we were this close to doing, and then ends up being that the Peoria Park district was already looking at it.

So that was part of that vetting process is that we go and talk to a couple other people around town and make sure that we are on the right track.

And sometimes we would be like, "Whoa, we have already got that in our plane.

- Right.

Well, yeah.

I mean, you had to learn that early on though.

- [Nick] Yeah.

- But did you, did you maybe like, almost step on some toes to begin with when that was... - Yeah, when we first started with Build Peoria we, we realized that, that it was a lot easier when we had like 10 or seven projects that came in, but this year was actually pretty tough.

Cause we had, you know, like I said, 10 projects that were in the vetting list and, and we lost four of them right away because we realized that we would have been separate on some toes because they have already got a plan they have already got budgeted or, or whatever.

So it is definitely a learning game, as we look through this.

- So in the vetting process, so how do you, how did you find out that the park district was working on such and so, or, or.

- Called Emily K. Hill?

So that is the cool part about living in Build Peoria is that, is that you have over the years, we have got context.

So, so we worked a lot with Emily in the last project and we just said, "Hey, you know, what is this project that we were working on, it was, it was for the fountain in, at the end of main street or Hamilton street, whatever it was.

And she said, "Actually, that is, that is part of our plan.

And it was like, "Oh, cool, well, that is part of the city's plan or whatever it is.

Exactly.

Yeah.

It's like, thanks.

But if you, if you have any of their ideas.

- So, and you two, now let's get back to your whole process.

What was the most frustrating thing for you in coming up with the idea he is going to let you answer that this.

- Or, well, frustrating or, um we were in the last days, Marcellus, Bob and I were texting at 4:30 AM for our layout plan for each day building up to the end.

So I do not know if that was frustrating or stressful.

These two fellows, you know, they get up early in the morning and exercise and I was still asleep.

So I had to wake up and, you know, respond.

- Was that frustrating for you?

Are you, you were good with it.

- I'm pretty laid back, I'm a patient guy.

So it was, it was, it was okay.

It was, it was definitely a little bit stressful though, just in terms of not knowing.

Right.

Just in terms of not knowing the vote count and which I think is a great idea that you guys keep it that way and just, you know, just trying to make sure we gave our best effort.

Yeah.

- And working with Bob Woolsey.

I mean, there is like a five hour energy every minute.

Well, but in the beginning Build Peoria, you made the decision, the public did not make the decision.

- Right.

So Bob actually invited myself and Darlene Violet, one of our board members out to Jones brothers and, and kind of gave us the pitch about the story, about how it, the history of it all and, and what it could be and what it, like if we could raise off the a hundred thousand dollars, this is what we would want.

Or, and it was like within five seconds, I knew that this is going to be a good finalist for us.

So it was, it was really cool to see Bob give us the pitch.

- Well, he does potent gratitude all around town.

It's pretty amazing.

Pretty amazing.

Peoria is a great place.

You all three grew up there.

You grew up with me, but I only moved here 42 years ago.

So thank you for sticking with me all these years and welcoming me.

And that is one of the best things that I have ever found out about Peoria is, it is a welcoming community.

And so very generous.

- Absolutely.

It is.

I mean, I don't know what other communities are like, I have lived in four other cities in my life, but I know that there has to be some source of statistics somewhere that could say the donations of, of a Peorian and per person has to be significantly more than any other city in the country.

- I think they have done studies on that.

I believe so.

- Because to think about all the organizations we have in Peoria to think about all the differences that we are able to make, it really is impressive to see Peorians come out of their shell and, and talk about how they are going to build Peoria into a better place.

- And you are glad you came back.

- Absolutely.

Yep.

You got it.

I, I spent about 10 years outside of Peoria and then I have been back here for about seven now.

So it is been, it is been fun to make a difference here in Peoria.

- Well, you know, we look forward to what is coming up and, and, and you don't necessarily target near neighborhoods.

- [Christine] It is, it is whatever comes through the idea, right?

- Yeah.

So, like I said, we we have had the, the dog park.

That was an idea that we went and talked to the, the then mayor at the time while still mayor, I guess at the time of the village of Peoria Heights and Mike was, was amazing.

And he said, "Hey, what about, what about a dog park?

What would you guys consider that?"

And it is like, "Absolutely.

That was a great idea".

- How many ideas did you have that first year?

- Probably, about three or four, I think were really the ideas that we had.

And then, the was actually during the, you called, that someone came up to us and said, "Hey, how can we get involved?

How do I do something besides today?

This is cool.

I had fun, but how do I do something besides today?"

And then that is when we realized we can engage the public by saying, "Everybody submit that your ideas in April for what the next project is going to be.

And then we got probably 10 and then we got the next year we got like, you know, I think it was eight.

And then this year was 30.

We did not even know we had, we have had four meetings on not vetting them out.

- Right, right.

So chili cook-off, October 3rd.

And how, how are people, you know, it, it is not too far away.

How are people supposed to get involved in that or get tickets?

Or how does that work?

- Yeah, just go straight to our website, buildpeoria.org.

Then there will be a button up there for tickets for the chili cook-off.

We are going to be doing, you can, if you can get a single ticket or you can get the, the advanced tickets more as we, as we go get closer to the event, but we are trying to figure out how to get as many people as possible to, and Dozer park this year.

Really, that is what it is all about.

- And then, so will you have on display?

What, what Potent Gratitude Park is so that people can see where the money is gone and you do all of that.

And have you shown all along the winners?

- Yeah.

That is, that is actually a good idea, Christine.

We, we have enough winners now that we could actually showcase the winners.

We can show a picture of, of everything, but, but absolutely.

- Have these people involved so that they can explain to people.

And then all of a sudden people know them, they identify and then they get more ideas.

Oh, okay.

- That's a great idea.

- Yeah.

Thank you.

Okay.

Yeah.

- Yeah.

So we will probably do that.

- Okay.

And make sure that you meet with that.

Okay.

Anything else that you would like to add about, about the future of Peoria?

- Hmm.

I just, I just believe that, you know, projects like this, projects, like he has done in the past, projects that Hedy's, are a part of is building the future for Peoria and it is, it is, it is, it is actually inspiring and to be a part of it, and I am excited for Peoria.

- You know, he is so soft-spoken, how was he such a monster of the basketball court, you know, - It is like a switch.

- Like that, that competitive thing.

- Sometimes he tells me, he is quiet on the basketball court.

- [Christine] And all that smack talk.

Right.

And then, so what do you think about the future of Peoria then?

- Well, I am excited.

I am a lifelong Peorian.

I love Peoria and I, everyone who knows me, I, I, why have not you, you know, moved out of Peoria.

And I studied out of the country and I travel all over Latin America, but I love Peoria.

I love the people of Peoria.

I love this idea of a grassroots effort, such as Nick and Build Peoria to inspire other people and younger people to what can we do and reach in our pocket.

And, and I think your fundraising idea is spot on you have, you know, you don't have one donor because when that one donor goes away, you have nothing.

- You would have to dig and find somebody else.

Right.

- But, you get a lot of buy-in from the people and tell your story.

And then the, it pro, you know, projects like ours and, and your past winners have that sustainability because people have bought into the project because of Build Peoria and their narrative and, and keeping it on the forefront.

- So have any of the other projects that have not won in the past years, have they come forward then and, and do over another?

- Yeah, absolutely.

We we have had a couple of do-overs and unfortunately did not win, but we have, we have had a couple people do over it.

And we have already had a couple of people asked me about whether or not they could do it over next year.

So from this year, - [Christine] So keeping trying.

- That is right.

That is right.

Because projects, aren't going to be, you know, maybe even time bound, right.

It might be a couple of years late, or it might be a couple of years of building and we can absolutely help with anything we can.

Right?

It is just cause these guys won, does not mean that there is not an opportunity for them the next year.

- Right.

Well, that is very inspiring.

So thank you for coming back to Peoria and doing that.

Thanks for sticking around while you were gone for a little while, but thanks for coming back.

And I mean, I love Peoria too.

You know, I have lived here longer than I lived in my own hometown, so I am very grateful to all of you.

And if you have any ideas for Build Peoria for next year, go to that website, buildpeoria.org.

And if you have any ideas for human interest stories for Consider This, we will take them too.

Give us a call at the station and enjoy, stay safe and healthy.

Thanks for joining us.

(bright upbeat music)