Together with our amazing partners, The Steamboat Classic Presented by PNC is honored to give back to a handful of local charities who make Greater Peoria healthier and happier. One of these is the Curley "Boo" Johnson's Skills For Life Basketball Academy Camp in Washington, hosted by former Harlem Globetrotter and Peoria High/Richwoods player Curley Johnson.

The impact and reach of this camp is huge: 600 kids between the ages of 9-14 love attending camp every summer and come away with so much more than an improved free throw. The camp's motto is “Skills for Life - Improving Your Game On and Off the Court,” and the values of teamwork, integrity, and respect are woven throughout the program.

Taught by Johnson and a team of talented local high school and college players, this will be their 17th year bringing the largest and most competitive youth basketball camp in the area back to the community. Registration is currently open on their website and camp is set for August 4-8.

We are so excited to have the opportunity to support a camp that shares a similar mission: engaging Greater Peoria in physical activity that is fun, social, and teaches you lessons that can be applied for life!

Did you know the red and white cane (the internationally recognized symbol for someone who is blind or visually impaired) was first created in Peoria in 1931 by Elmer Thomson?

Thomson was the president of the Association of the Blind in Peoria and succeeded with an experiment to see which combination of colored canes would alert drivers at intersections that someone was visually impaired. Today, the Central Illinois Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired provides these canes to those in need. For this reason and so many more, they are one of the local charities supported by the Steamboat Classic Presented by PNC this year.

The Center’s mission is to help teach the blind and visually impaired in Peoria the skills they need for independent living through education programs, social events, and transportation. Their white cane clinic provides participants with a cane and teaches them essential skills, like how to navigate indoor and outdoor environments, to greatly improve their independence and ability to engage in life. They also build community among the blind and visually impaired by hosting lunches and dinners throughout the month, taking field trips to concerts, plays, and parks, and playing games in braille or large print.

You can learn more about their great work through their website, and we invite you to join us in supporting their cause when you register for the 2025 Steamboat Classic.

We are endlessly inspired by the incredibly important work of local charities like the Central Illinois Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired and their commitment to bettering Greater Peoria for ALL people.

With the help of our incredible partners, The Steamboat Classic Presented by PNC is fortunate to give back to a handful of local charities who change the lives of those living in Greater Peoria. One of these is the OSF HealthCare Cancer Institute, an organization who is a beacon of light for patients in their darkest times.

Their facility provides streamlined care to patients through every step of the process: testing, diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. They make sure their patients are never alone and always supported, with everyone assigned a personal nurse and access to social workers, counselors, and dieticians. They are also the only treatment center in central Illinois offering proton therapy which targets cancer cells while protecting healthy tissue nearby.

It is hard to find anyone whom cancer hasn’t impacted in one way or another, and it is encouraging to know that organizations like the OSF HealthCare Cancer Institute exist. With the support of our partners, we are so thankful to be in a position to aid them in furthering their mission of helping more cancer patients.

Photo Credit: OSF Health Care