(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music fades) - On tonight's show, are you on the naughty list or the nice list?

(bright festive music) - It doesn't take more than a couple of minutes before we're just engulfed with love and support and energy, and it just takes hold of you.

- We've never tried to do things normal here at Dream Center.

Not that normal's bad, but it's not just an afterschool program and it's not just a homeless shelter or apartments.

They can actually merge together.

- We just wanted people to come out and have fun, enjoy themselves.

I personally enjoy walking through the trees.

You just feel close to nature, and I think a lot of our customers enjoy that too.

(bright festive music) (music fades) (calm music) (calm music continues) - We've never tried to do things normal here at Dream Center.

Not that normal's bad, but just I'm a bit of a creative and so I try to create with our team spaces and programs where it may be a little bit more interesting for the student or for the family and where the community would also want to get involved as well.

Well, we live to impact families living in poverty, starting with kids and youth.

Over 20 years we've been doing this and started early when we saw the needs within the Peoria area, and be able to really come alongside them and really show them a hope and a future.

We are a 24/7 outreach organization.

We've always had a philosophy that if we find a need, we need to fill it.

So we have four different divisions here at the Dream Center.

(bright music) (bright music continues) (bright music continues) Many years ago, we had a volunteer that came and we positioned him to teach math to the students.

And a few weeks into it, we realized and he told us that, "Hey, this isn't really what I want to do, but can I bring my motorbike in, and I want to teach a kid how to tear down the motorbike and rebuild it."

And what he found was the student that we gave him, he found that the student came alive.

- Friend of mine, Mike Hasselbusch who runs the small engine repair program over next door, he talked me into coming down here.

And we started out actually taking some of his motorcycles that were beyond the ability to be repaired and put back on the road and we started working with some of the kids.

As we gained a little bit of traction on the trades in general, and we had a bunch of woodworking equipment donated, we decided in the following semester to go ahead and kick off carpentry.

- So from there, the gentleman started getting an army of volunteers that were also thinking the same as him, that they would love to get their hands dirty with these students and showing them different trades.

And so from that then we then stepped into coffee, we stepped into carpentry, T-shirt printing, 3D printing, foundry in a box.

(hopeful music) - The schools seemed to be very focused on trying to push every student through college, and frankly, that's just not a good fit for every student.

And so we're trying to get some exposure to these students with the skilled trades and help them understand that there's some really good opportunities out there.

- And it's all about the youth.

You know, we wanna make sure they develop that skill so they can get the jobs, they can be in a certain skillset that majority of people don't have by coming through this program, and it's gonna stick with them for the rest of their life.

(hopeful music) - We start out with some fairly basic projects, 'cause again, most of these students, most of them are middle school students, most of them have never held a tool before in their life.

Bird houses, cutting boards, little toolboxes, little things that they can do.

- Carpentry is like a place where you can let your creativity go free.

- As they see some of these things come together, you know, and they realize, "Oh, I did that," right?

And they can take something home with them and show it off to mom, dad, grandma, whoever it may be, and say, "Look what I did," right?

It's some confidence and it's some pride.

I think it's a huge boost for them.

- They helped me by teaching me how to use the tools that the trades have.

Also telling me, like, exactly how to do it and how, like, not to get hurt doing stuff.

They also helped me learn lessons so that when I make mistakes, I know not to do them again.

(hopeful music) - A whole lot of these students that come in here don't have any adults that are actively engaged with them in their life.

And so, you know, the kids come in and they're not just learning how to cut and saw and put something together, right?

They're telling a little bit about what went on, right?

What's their situation at home, what do they need, what are they struggling with, and that takes all kinds of forms.

- Anybody have certain students they want to bring down here, you know, we just want to get that to the community, that we're here to help the community.

It's not just like a Dream Center base.

We're not gonna be selfish, like this just is just ours.

No, this for community, you know?

Especially when it's involving the youth.

- And so I think that's the beauty about the Dream Center, is for students that may be in some of our housing programs here, they can still come and have a bit of normalcy.

It's not just an afterschool program and it's not just a homeless shelter or apartments.

They can actually merge together and people can come alongside us and really help those students.

(hopeful music) - Can always use more volunteers, we can always use, of course, the Dream Center in general could always use more financial support.

There's a little bit of something for everybody.

You know, if you wanna work with children, there's just an infinite amount of opportunity here to get involved with these kids.

- I just wanna say I appreciate the volunteers a lot, 'cause without them this wouldn't be possible.

(hopeful music) - Thank you for helping me learn these life skills that I have learned today and in my past.

I really do appreciate those life skills.

(hopeful music) (music fades) (calm festive music) - [Julie] Welcome to the Cinnamon Christmas Tree Farm in Brimfield, where Bill and Shirley Cinnamon put down roots in 1969 and the holiday spirit has been growing ever since.

But about a decade ago, Rod and Cathy Stahl decided to keep that tradition going.

- And then we purchased the farm about 10 years ago from them, and we kind of decided that Cinnamon sounded more like Christmas than Stahl.

And we were neighbors to the Cinnamons prior to us purchasing the farm and good friends of them, so we thought it was a good way to honor their legacy also.

- [Julie] With nine kids in the Stahl family, it's all hands on deck, or should I say all hands on trees, to keep the farm thriving and evergreen.

- So we have eight daughters and one son, and some of them work year-round.

The younger ones are here and work year-round doing all sorts.

But during the busy season, even the older married ones come home, our oldest daughter and her husband and grandkids are in Texas.

So they were back for Thanksgiving weekend and jumped right in and helped.

And then, yeah, even the grandkids are getting old enough that they can help pull trees through the bagger.

And then we also have our brother and sister-in-law come and help and lots of my nieces and nephews come help, and so yeah, definitely a family.

- [Julie] One year while preparing for the holiday season and tagging the trees, the Stahl children decided to do something unique for each of the trees - And they decided to name every tree.

And our customers liked that so much that we continue to name every tree in the field.

We don't name all the pre-cuts, but so far we've been naming every tree in the field.

And so it is kind of hilarious sometimes how much people put stock in the name of the tree in how they select a tree.

They'll pick a tree just based on its name only sometimes.

So there's some funny stories about that, and some, you know, some sad heart-wrenching stories too.

- Last year we had a grandma come with her granddaughter, and she came up to me and she said, "Do you know if you have any tree named Faith?"

Because she had lost, the little girl had lost her cousin that was a close friend that year.

She was nine years old.

And so she was like, "I just really, you know, it'd be great if we could find a tree with that name on it."

So I kind of knew where I had put some of those, like Faith, Hope, Love, you know those, and so I was like, "I think we can maybe find it."

And she did find it, so she was able to take home Faith that year for a Christmas tree, so that was pretty special for them.

- [Julie] The Stahl family specializes in more than just Christmas trees.

They're in the business of growing traditions and helping families make holiday memories.

- They wanna come out and be outdoors and experience, you know, pulling the tree themselves and choosing it themselves.

And all our trees don't look the same, so they like the hunt of finding something where, you know, if you go to a big box store, they might all look the same or might not be even opened up, you know?

So you can see what they look like.

So I think it's the experience, the hot chocolate and cookies, gift shop, music playing, you know, all that.

- [Julie] Whether you're searching for pine, fir, or a spruce, you'll leave the Cinnamon Christmas Tree Farm with the perfect tree for your holiday celebrations.

- I'm kind of a perfectionist and I want all my trees to be what I think is great quality, and initially, you know, I would maybe be tempted to cut down and burn the ones that I didn't think were good enough, but I've learned that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and not everybody has the same ideal for their perfect Christmas tree.

So oftentimes I'm a little bit surprised at what some people will buy, but they're just thrilled with it.

- [Julie] With almost 1,200 self-cut trees sold each year, the seeds have been planted to grow the family business.

- And demand just continues to grow.

So about three or four years ago, we made the decision to purchase some more land a couple miles away, and we've been planting trees there also.

So we're projecting in 2028, about four years away yet, that we'll have trees to harvest on the new farm.

And we're excited about that because it's quite a bit larger than our farm here, and we're hoping to have trees for everyone and that we don't have to shut people off, we can provide wagon rides, and we're looking forward to that next step, - [Julie] This holiday season, the Stahls hope every family leaves their farm with more than just a tree.

They want you to take home the true meaning of Christmas along with a great experience.

- We just wanted people to come out and have fun, enjoy themselves, just enjoy the experience.

I personally enjoy walking through the trees.

You just feel close to nature, and I think a lot of our customers enjoy that too.

(calm festive music) (bright festive music) - Slip into your favorite Christmas kicks, snuggle into your coziest Christmas gear, hold onto your sleigh bells, because it's time for the "You Gotta See This!"

exclusive peek at the one and only jolly old elf himself.

(bright festive music) Santa's here!

You gotta see this!

- Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas!

- As you can see, I'm already a believer, so I couldn't wait to talk to the big guy myself.

But first I had to make sure that I had the real deal here to interview.

Okay, so what is your real name?

- Santa Claus.

- No, I mean what's your name?

- Saint Nick.

- Okay, oh, you drive a sleigh.

Do you have a driver's license?

- Do I need one?

In the history of Santa, it started out Saint Ignatius, and then it became Saint Nicholas, then it became Nicholas.

And then in the Roman Empire it cut off, and in Denmark I think they finally came up with Santa Claus.

- Santa!

Oh my God!

Santa here?

I know him.

I know him.

- This is quite the scoop to get the Santa Claus in our studio, so first I had to ask him some important questions.

Do you have a favorite cookie?

Like what's the best cookie to leave on Christmas Eve?

- Oatmeal M&M's.

Mm-hmm.

- There are a few of those right over there.

Make yourself at home.

Maybe I can get on the nice list.

You think?

- [Producer] Is it too late for her to be on the nice list?

- (laughs) It's never too late till Christmas Eve!

- Hey, thank goodness.

I was worried.

Okay, more cookies.

Okay, got it.

- Are they good cookies?

- Yeah.

(Santa laughs) (bright festive music) (bright festive music continues) - [Julie] I'm not the only skeptic out there.

- In order to see if you're real and you're a real Santa, I let them pull my beard.

- Oh, go ahead, pull it.

Ah!

- You'd be surprised, the older kids, when they walk up there and you let them pull your beard and they go, "It is real," well, that's fun.

That takes the fun out, keeps the fun going.

The kids mature quicker and when they start talking to school, they got all the kids that say, "Okay, Santa's not real anymore," but it's still up to the individual to what they believe.

- Can you tell if someone's on the naughty or nice list?

How do you know that?

- Behavior.

- Like, you couldn't tell, right?

That I am a naughty or nice from way over here, can you?

- Yes, I can.

- Can you tell me?

- Well, you've been naughty.

- That's not true!

- And that's the problem with everybody, they all deny it.

That's the first sign of who's naughty and who's nice.

- [Julie] The verdict may still be out on who is on what list, but what I really wanted to know is why Santa keeps spreading the Christmas cheer year after year.

- I love the opportunity of working with kids.

I feel it's a blessing that I have the opportunity to do it and to be a part of everybody's life.

Because at Christmas time it's a very important time, the kids have a lot to, well, there's a lot of kids that don't have much, so they come in and spend some time with you, you try and make it a memorable point for them.

It's an important factor for the kids to have something to look up to.

- [Julie] Lean your ears this way as Santa shares a little secret.

And you might be surprised, he says the presents, those aren't the most important things about his visit.

- The gifts are the side factor.

The gifts are something that was created through the Christmas scene many, many years ago.

But visiting Santa, it's an important part, because Santa is their belief factor with those gifts.

They put those two together.

And we try to bless them both with the opportunity of, "Are you being good?

Are you on the naughty list?"

I always give them that little wave.

I say, "You've got some time, you better straighten up a little bit, 'cause you never know what to expect."

That's the magic of Santa.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

♪ Here comes Santa Claus ♪ ♪ Here comes Santa Claus ♪ ♪ Right down Santa Claus Lane ♪ (bright music) (bright music continues) - The Penguin Project is a program that gives kids with special needs and disabilities the opportunity to perform live theater.

They are the stars, they have all the parts, but what makes the program unique is that each child with a special need is partner with a typically-developing child, and they together perform during rehearsals and on stage as a team.

And so it develops relationships, friendships, things that are so important to these kids who prior to this had very little opportunities to be with other kids.

(bright music) I am a developmental pediatrician.

I work with children that have special needs, but I've also been involved in community theater for most of my life.

When my children started doing community theater, I realized how much it helped their communication skills, their social skills, and their self-esteem, and recognized that those were the very things that were missing in many of my patients.

So I decided to create a program to give those kids that opportunity.

My wife joined me and together we started the program beginning in 2004 here in Peoria.

The program was so successful that the parents came to us and said, "You know, it's a shame that just our kids get to do this.

You should take it on the road."

And that's what we did.

We created a foundation, we created a replication program.

Currently we have 60 programs in 21 states, all of them doing the same thing, creating opportunities for children with special needs to do theater, and doing that, enhancing their skills.

(bright music) (bright music continues) Children with special needs have very few opportunities to participate in extracurricular and community activities.

They just don't have those opportunities.

So this has given them the opportunity to show what they can do, to highlight their talents, and to develop those relationships that are so important.

There are times when I've had a bad day, I'm tired, and I say to my wife, "Oh, do we really have to go?

Do we really need to do this?"

But then we get here, it doesn't take more than a couple of minutes before we're just engulfed with love and support and energy and it just takes hold of you.

These kids are so wonderful, they're so excited to be here, and they are just wonderful to work with.

♪ I am the Will of the people now ♪ ♪ He is the Will ♪ - Can you feel it?

(crowd cheering) ♪ On any given day ♪ ♪ You know what they'll say ♪ ♪ He is the Will ♪ ♪ I am the Will ♪ ♪ He is the Will ♪ - It wasn't just about putting on a show, it was about creating an inclusive atmosphere.

That was really what was most important, creating friendships, creating relationships.

- It really helps you just makes so many friends.

That's amazing part about this.

It really helps just your social skills and everything, and I think everyone deserves to have that.

- Seeing the development of every kid, especially from start to end on stage, seeing them shine, and having their own personal, like, glimmer on stage just so they can get out of their comfort zone just a little bit, but also have the encouragement from the audience and everything.

- Well, there's several ways to get involved.

It's time to come down and check us out, see if you want to be part of the program.

We are looking for young people with special needs between the ages of 10 and 23 and typically-developing kids the same age.

♪ Strangers waitin' ♪ ♪ Up and down the boulevard ♪ - It's not just enough for them to be able to do it, but for them to be able to do it with their typically-developing peers and creating those relationships, it's really the centerfold of this particular program.

These kids without disabilities, the typical-developing kids are just amazing.

They give of themselves like you wouldn't believe.

And in truth, as I look down the road, this is where the future lies.

These young people will learn about supporting people with disabilities, they will learn about participation, they will learn about inclusion, so that when they community leaders, hopefully they will take what they've learned here and make a statement within their communities.

- Spreading inclusivity around everywhere is just a big thing for me.

Not understanding something is one thing, but just making fun of something is another thing.

You always wanna make sure that you're encouraging somebody and not making fun of them just because you don't know the way that they're feeling.

But being on stage with these kids, it's all encouragement and all having fun.

- This has just become the best therapeutic program that I've seen.

The children that I've worked with have been involved in different kinds of academic, educational, therapeutic programs.

It's nothing like this.

This really captures what we're trying to do for these young people, give them a chance to show what they can do, create that inclusive atmosphere that's so important for them to be part of the community.

I do it because I love working with these children and these families, and I think it's so important for them to get that opportunity to be engaged and involved.

♪ Make it musical ♪ - [Mentor] Oh my gosh!

Oh my gosh!

Whoa oh!

- [Group] Thanks for watching "You Gotta See This!"

- Thanks so much to all of our viewers for watching "You Gotta See This!"

- And thank you for all of you guys who've shared your amazing stories.

- Happy holidays from the "You Gotta See This!"

team.

- Wait, who's running the camera?

Oh!

- [Narrator] Thank you for joining us on this journey.

If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to explore even more local content.

You can connect with us on our social media channels, visit our website, and check out Passport for exclusive features.

We can't wait to see you next time on "You Gotta See This!"

(bright festive music) (bright festive music continues) (bright festive music continues) (bright festive music continues) (music fades)