• COMMUNITY RESOURCES

    Hoose Hawks, below is a list of Community Resources available to you and your family.  They are listed in categories, some with direct links.  We will add to this list as we learn more...

     

    Resources for Families

    Please skim through the following resources to help your families during this difficult time.  This will be updated as more information becomes available. 

    *Food*

    Unit 5 is offering grab and go meals for students.  Go to one of the specified locations during the appropriate hours.  All that is needed to receive a “Grab and Go” meal is a student’s name, grade, and school. The child does not need to be present.

    Hours for pick up at all locations

     

    Click Here for times and locations:  Unit 5 Grab and Go Meals

    **If you are unable to access this resource, please contact the Colene Hoose office during the hours of 7:30 – 11:30 so we can provide assistance.

    FREE FOOD BOXES: The Tinervin Family Foundation and Wesley United Methodist Church have partnered to distribute FREE FOOD BOXES are Wesley West on Saturday, April 18 at 9:00 AM.

    Wesley West

    413 E. Washington, Bloomington, IL.

    **They will NOT be hosting the typical distribution event this month. 

    Feed Blo/No Kids  The community of Bloomington/Normal are committed to making sure no child goes without food.  Visit this site to see locations of FREE hamburgers and hot dogs for children.

    https://www.feedblonokids.com/

     

    McCalister’s Deli in Bloomington (Monday – Friday, 11 AM – 1 PM)  Every student can receive a free sack lunch that contains a turkey and cheese sandwich, chips, applesauce, and a cookie. No purchase necessary.

    https://www.mcalistersdeli.com/

     

    Boys & Girls Club of Bloomington-Normal – Food boxes will be available for families to pick up at the Club. Monday – Friday; 3-5 PM 1615 Illinois St., Bloomington

     

    *Food Pantries/Churches*

    City of Refuge Food Pantry – Emergency food upon request

                401 E. Jefferson, Bloomington

                309-452-4223

     

    Journey Church – By appointment

    1320 E. College Ave., Normal

    309-452-3359

     

    Eastview Church (Wed 10-11:30, 6-7:30 – drive thru

                Bloomington Campus; 401 Union Street, Bloomington

                309-451-5000

     

    Ministry and More, Inc. (Tues, Wed, Thurs 10-12 and by appointment)

                1107 W. Empire St. Bloomington

                309-823-9804

     

    Mt. Pisgah Food Pantry (Wed; 5-7)

                801 Market St., Bloomington

                309-828-2571

     

    Park United Methodist Church (Mon. 5 PM)

                704 S. Allin St., Bloomington

                309-287-3540

     

    Salvation Army Food Pantry (Mon – Thurs 1-4pm)

                208 N. Oak St., Bloomington

                309-829-9476

     

    Temba Food Pantry (Thursday 4:30-6:30)

                14960 Old Colonial Rd., Bloomington

                309-827-2009                 

     

    Union Missionary Baptist Church (by appt)

                509 W. Jackson St., Bloomington

                309-828-1162

    St. Vincent DePaul Food Pantry Drive up and walk up: Mondays, 9 AM to Noon, and 1 PM – 4 PM 705 N. Roosevelt St. 309-829-9611 Email: svdp-ht@holytrinitybloomington.org

    Bread for Life Food Co-Op Pre-Packaged food boxes available to anyone. 3-5 PM Monday, Wednesday, Friday 6-8 Tuesday and Thursday 303 E. Oakland Ave. Bloomington 309-828-7356

     

    *Other Shopping Needs*

    Dollar General is dedicating the FIRST hour of business to senior citizen customers.

    Wesley Distribution Ministry – 9:30 – 11:30 AM on the 3rd Saturday of each month (4/21)

    Offers diapers, baby wipes, paper towels, toilet paper, napkins, facial tissue and feminine products at no cost.  (while supplies last)

                502 E. Front St., Bloomington

                Drive up and walk up services

     

    Center for Youth & Family Services (By appt)

                Formula and Baby food only

                603 N. Center St., Bloomington

                309-829-6307

     

    Wesley United Methodist Church will host a drive-thru and walk-up distribution for your low-income families this Saturday, May 16th from 9 a.m.-11:30 a.m. at Wesley West, 412 E. Washington St., Bloomington.
     
    Food Boxes donated by the Tinervin Foundation will be distributed as well as paper products, including diapers!  There is no cost and no identification is needed.  In addition, we are getting 425 box lunches from a United Way grant.  It won't be enough for everyone but we will give them to kids and elderly first.
     
    Thanks to Midwest Food Bank, United Way of McLean County and Wesley church members, we are able to have the paper distribution.  We are beginning to get some support from others in the community.  Please help us spread the word of our need for paper products, especially diapers and wipes.  Wesley West will be open this week from 1-3 each day to receive donations.  Next week, it will be open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 1-3. In April we served 402 families, double our usual number.
     
    Your help in communicating our paper distribution is vital to our success in reaching the people in our community who have so little.
     
    Volunteers will be directing traffic and we ask people to enter from Front Street.

     

    Utilities

    Governor Pritzker has called for a moratorium on water, natural gas, and electric service disconnections.  While some companies have not yet confirmed this, If you are concerned about making payments, call your provider to get on record with your situation.  If they decide to implement the moratorium, it is important to have your request on file.

    Nicor – Suspending all shut offs effective immediately through April

    Ameren – suspending service disconnection and forgiving late payments for non-payment through at least May 1. 

    Water – TBD

    Illinois Power- TBD

    Comcast - offering new customers 60 days of free Internet Essentials service (usually $9.95/month for low income families)

    United Way is offering Community Economic Relief Funds. They can help families with bills, rent and food. Call: 1-866-211-9966 to be given a list of local agencies to provide assistance.

     

    Crisis & Community Resources

    PATH (Providing Access to Help) – Dial 2-1-1

                24/7 Crisis Response, Information, and Referrals

     

    Chestnut Credit Counseling Services – provides families with credit counseling

                1003 Martin Luther King Dr., Bloomington

                309-820-3501

     

    Special Olympics Healthy & Fit Tips – Check the Special Olympics social media pages (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) for daily healthy fit tips!

    COVID-19 and Unemployment Benefits Unemployment benefits may be available to some individuals whose unemployment is due to COVID. Illinois Department of Employment Security recently adopted emergency rules to try to make the unemployment insurance system as responsive to the current situation as possible.

    https://www2.illinois.gov/ides/Pages/COVID-19-and-Unemployment-Benefits.aspx

     

    Emergency Child Care

    YMCA The Y facility will serve ONLY as an emergency school aged child care program (K-5) for those working families that desperately need child care, particularly those on the front line – health care workers, nurses, doctors, EMT, police and fire. The Y cannot exceed 50 kids.

    YWCA Young Wonders Due to staff shortage, the Young Wonders program must put a cap on the number of children they are serving. Effective immediately, parents must call by 6 PM the night before to guarantee a space for their child(ren) the following day. They are serving families on a first come/first serve bases.

    Capacity is as follows: Infants: 8 Toddlers/Two-Year-Olds: 16 Pre-K: 16 School Aged: 32

    Contact the Young Wonders Director, Nathina Williams at 309-662-7826 // nwilliams@ywcamclean.org

     

    Educational

    We are not promoting any of these sites or products; however, we wanted to give suggestions of things to do at home with students.

    ABCya!

    Register for a FREE account to play lots of educational games.

    https://www.abcya.com/

    Growing Book by Book

    Listen to some of your favorite stories on line!

    https://growingbookbybook.com/online-literacy-resources/?fbclid=IwAR1kfLPSQ3dyb7LI6clnF9IhKuLWwcDjeYc4TH9iczkkfpRchSnxo9hfWzg

    Story time in Space! Listen to an astronaut read a story from space!!

    https://storytimefromspace.com/

    #OperationStoryTime Your favorite authors host story time online!

    https://coolprogeny.com/2020/03/operation-storytime/

    •  Jan Brett reads “Cozy“
    •  Susie Jaramillo reads “Little Sunny Sunshine” from the Cantico Series (in English and Spanish)
    •  Sophie Blackall reads Ivy & Bean
    •  Anica Mrose Rissi reads “Love, Sophia on the Moon“
    •  Steven Weinberg reads part of “AstroNuts“
    •  Shawn Harris reads “Everyone’s Awake“
    •  Molly Idle reads “Pearl“
    •  Ame Dyckman reads “You Don’t Want A Unicorn!” (She’s dressed as a unicorn, btw…)
    •  Eva Chen reads “Juno Valentine and the Magical Shoes“
    •  Karen Romano Young reads a chapter of “A Girl, a Raccoon, and the Midnight Moon“ Bound to Stay Bound Bookstore Check out this site to hear authors doing read-alouds, videos, and activities.

    Bound to Stay Bound Bookstore Check out this site to hear authors doing read-alouds, videos, and activities.

    https://www.btsb.com/authors-books/

    BrainPop This site offers several educational videos and games! Check it out!

    • Username: Hoose_Hawks
    • Password: ABC123

    Adventure Academy: Adventure Academy brings learning to life as it builds critical knowledge of essential curriculum topics with thousands of learning activities in language arts, math, science, and social studies in a safe and engaging virtual world. For grades 3 – 8 Follow this link to redeem your free membership. You can sign up 3 students.

    https://www.adventureacademy.com/redeem/

    • School Code: SCHOOL2547

    Reading IQ Reading IQ is an advanced digital library and literacy platform for children through 6th grade that provides access to thousands of high-quality books. Follow this link to redeem your free membership. You sign up 3 students, at most.

    https://www.readingiq.com/redeem/

    • School Code: SCHOOL2547

    Science Activities – For the scientists out there, check out this link that will take you to 40+ science websites!

    https://www.boredteachers.com/resources/40-science-websites-to-keep-kids-engaged-and-entertained-at-home

    Dreambox Math: For a limited time, parents can sign up for a 90 day free trial of Dreambox to assist with at home learning. Sign up by April 30th .

    https://www.dreambox.com/at-home

    Engineering Projects @ Home – Check out the linked Google Doc for some fun activities to do from home!

    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oCM2Ue9w32EUIGfRXsjwEXU_-Up8D6FSSWT8YGiBEtE/preview

    Captain Planet Foundation: Captain Planet has pulled together a guide of free resources for K12 students to continue learning and explore their environment. Projects included!

    https://captainplanetfoundation.org/programs/

     

    Keep Learning At Home

    Ag Education Daily

    Ag Lesson Ideas

    https://mcleanaitc.org/daily-ag-lesson-ideas/

    IL AG Mags Online

    https://mcleanaitc.org/il-ag-mags-online/

    Terra Nova Readers

    https://mcleanaitc.org/terra-novas-readers/

     

    Normal Public Library

    The Normal Public Library will be closed until further notice, but you can use their digital resources!

    • Search the library catalog and place items on hold. Then you can get it when they re-open.
    • Download an eBook or eAudiobook
    • Look at RBDigital, a free service that offers full digital copies of your favorite magazines, continuing education courses, test prep, health and wellness, music, movies, TV and audiobooks
    • Download the mobile app on google play or the Apple Store.
    • Listen to our podcast, Check It Out
    • Follow this link for a list full of links to fun things!  https://www.normalpl.org/kids-teens/resources
    • Check out NPL’s Facebook page for a link to fun VIRTUAL PROGRAMS.
    • Follow this link to check out TumbleBooks through NPL.

    https://normalpl.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://www.tumblebooklibrary.com/auto_login.aspx?U=normal&P=libra

     

    For Fun!

    Doodles with Mo Willems Artist Mo Willems invites you to his studio every day for Lunch Doodles! Learn to draw, doodles, and explore new ways of writing.

    https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/mo-willems/

    The Pantagraph: The Pantagraph wants to know how you’re spending your time at home. Send pictures to photos@pantagraph.com and look for the gallery in the future.

    https://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/share-your-pics-how-are-you-spending-your-time-at/article_7ee9f9b0-f2ab-5266-a821-397da

    NASA: Check out NASA to see images that are out of this world!

    https://images.nasa.gov/

    You can also check out all the fun activities STEM activities you can do from home!

    https://www.nasa.gov/stem/forstudents/k-4/index.html

    Cincinnati Zoo

    http://cincinnatizoo.org/

    The Cincinnati Zoo is offering a Home Safari Facebook Live each week day at 2 PM CST, where they will highlight one of the amazing animals at the zoo.  Additionally, they will include an activity that can be done from home! After the Facebook live broadcast, the video will be posted on the Cincinnati Zoo webpage and YouTube.

    100 Things to do at Home!

    https://justcaracarroll.com/100-activities-for-kids-to-do-at-home/

    Visit this site to get ideas on ways to spend the days off.  Cara Carroll offers links to cooking websites for kids, virtual field trips, games to play, and much more.

    Sensory Activities to try from Home! Some students need sensory input! Check out these fun activities you can try at home!

    https://www.boredteachers.com/classroom-ideas/20-best-sensory-activities-your-kids-will-love

    Things to do! Need help thinking out of the box when developing things to do? Check out this list. These are great low tech activities for elementary level students.

    https://www.weareteachers.com/things-to-do-during-covid/

    Ranger Rick! Ranger Rick is offering a FREE digital subscription! Learn about animals and wildlife!

    https://rangerrick.org/freedigital/

    Mclean County Museum of History – Digital resources and activities to do at home with your students. Follow this link to find their list of resources. https://bit.ly/MCMHOnline

    Virtual Field Trips

    – Check out the animals at the San Diego Zoo!

    https://kids.sandiegozoo.org/

    – See the wonders at the Yellowstone National Park

    https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/photosmultimedia/virtualtours.htm

    – Explore the surface of MARS!

    https://accessmars.withgoogle.com/

    - Great Wall of China

    https://www.thechinaguide.com/destination/great-wall-of-china

    – Visit the Boston Children’s Museum

    https://www.bostonchildrensmuseum.org/museum-virtual-tour

    – Get a close up view of marine life, like sharks, penguins, and otters at the Monterey Bay Aquarium!

    https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/live-cams

    – Ever wonder where your food comes from?  Take a tour of a farm!

    https://www.farmfood360.ca/?utm_source=domain&utm_campaign=www.virtualfarmtours.ca&utm_medium=redirect

    – See where the President lives! Former President Barack Obama will take you on a tour of the White House when he was in office.

    https://www.facebook.com/ObamaWhiteHouse/videos/10155140995934238/

    – Interested in Art and/or History? Take a virtual tour of the famous Louvre Museum in Paris!

    https://www.louvre.fr/en/visites-en-ligne

    - You can also visit the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago!

    http://total360.in/panorama/virtual-tour/360/field-museum-usa-chicago/

    - Check out the Shedd Aquarium! They’re letting the penguins roam free!

    https://www.sheddaquarium.org/educators/virtual-field-trips

    - Maybe you’re interested in Chicago! Create your own ‘stay-cation” by checking out these Chicago virtual tours!

    https://scholasticatravel.com/2016/04/06/chicago-virtual-tours/

    - If you want to see how the Royal Family in England lives, take this tour of Buckingham Palace, without ever leaving home!

    https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/tradition/news/a7820/tour-buckingham-palace/

    -Disney World may be closed, but you can still feel like you’re right in the action by taking a virtual ride!

    https://www.narcity.com/things-to-do/us/fl/orlando/6-virtual-disney-rides-to-explore-until-the-parks-open

     

    Classes for Adults!

    MCAA (Mid Central Community Action) is offering scholarships for low-income, undergraduate level, non-traditional students age 24 or older, or younger student who live on their own with a dependent child.  Elgible students may be awards scholarships in the amount of $1000.00 to be used for tuition, books, supplies, or other related expenses such as child care. 

    To be considered, applications must be received by 4:00 PM on June 19, 2020.

    For more information, visit: https://mccainc.org/  or email:  laurag@mccainc.org