Baby Fold counts on Festival of Trees fundraiser during budget deadlock

Posted on November 10, 2015

By Eric Stock

BLOOMINGTON – The Festival of Trees is hoping for a more festive look this year.

Melissa Engel is special events coordinator for the Baby Fold in Normal which is hosting the 22nd annual event at the Interstate Center Nov. 19-22.

PODCAST: Listen to Scott and Colleen’s interview with Engel on WJBC.

“We’ve included Palace Events to help us create a more dramatic look at the Interstate Center,” Engel said. “It’s going to look beautiful,”

The Festival of Trees is the largest annual fundraiser for the group that provides a range of services for at-risk youth, including residential treatment, foster care and adoption services. It’s opening night is a week from Thursday, Nov. 19.

Engel told WJBC’s Scott Laughlin, 10 restaurants have donated food to the opening night dinner, which is selling for $75 per ticket.

“The Baby Fold will get all of those proceeds, which is phenomenal,” Engel said.

Budget impact

The Baby Fold has had to cut back on services and shift its focus during the state budget stalemate.

Engel said the agency has made staff reductions and is following a state recommendation to move children away from residential treatment centers and keep them at home when possible.

“We are trending away from that a little bit,” Engel said. “We do know sometimes a family is not the bet placement for a child, so we still have to consider that as well. ”

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year. It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city. Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University. We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk. Going to work every day for some people means…