Community Outreach Projects
Voices of Great Schools Together
WILL interviewed people who come to community planning forums created by the Unit 4 school district in Champaign. Voices of Great Schools Together captures on video some of the hopes, challenges and perspectives of community members, parents and students regarding Champaign public schools.
Central Illinois World War II Stories
WILL worked with community partners to capture and share the stories of central Illinois World War II veterans and their families in conjunction with the broadcast of Ken Burns’ “The War” on PBS in September 2007.
Young Learners Initiative
WILL-TV’s Young Learners Initiative offers free books, workshops, publications and more for parents, childcare providers and teachers. Our Ready To Learn project shows parents and teachers how to use educational television, children’s books and hands-on activities to increase learning.
Youth Media Workshop
WILL works with economically diverse African-American youth from public schools to empower them to make media and social change.
University High School Student Documentaries
WILL works with students at Urbana University High School to produce a radio documentary each year. Students learn technical aspects of radio production as well as storytelling and interviewing techniques.
Smile Healthy!
Smile Healthy! is a community-based campaign aimed at improving oral health and access to dental care in Champaign County. WILL-AM 580, WBCP-AM 1580 and Champaign County Health Care Consumers won national grants to launch the campaign.
African-American Life in Central Illinois
A series of WILL-TV specials produced in 1968 and 1969 presented a vivid snapshot of the lives of African Americans in central Illinois. WILL recovered and preserved this archival material with generous support from the University of Illinois Library and the Center for Democracy in a Multiracial Society. Now we are engaging the community in an effort to relate this material to African-American life in Central Illinois 40 years later.
Read more...Hoopeston Youth Project
Students from Hoopeston Area High School will host a town hall meeting to bring youth and adults together to talk about problems and concerns in the community. The meeting is at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 25, in the Hoopeston City Hall council chambers.
Read more...Tornado Safety
Each spring, WILL meteorologist Ed Kieser presents a free tornado safety seminar.
Beyond Brown
WILL AM and TV received a $20,000 grant from the Office of the Chancellor at the University of Illinois to participate in the U of I’s “Brown vs. Board of Education 50th Anniversary Campus Commemoration.” WILL worked with a group of Franklin Middle School students to produce a radio documentary about how the Brown decision affected students in Champaign-Urbana.
Caregiving
WILL-TV and AM 580 worked with area service agencies to provide programming and resources to caregivers.
Decatur Dropout Programs
WILL-TV and AM 580 produced a series of programs looking at the high school dropout problem in Decatur schools.
A Day in Our Hometown Series
WILL-TV’s A Day in Our Hometown series focused on stories about central Illinois locations through the video productions of the people who live in the communities. Programs have featured Danville, Decatur and Bloomington-Normal.
By the People: America in the World
WILL-TV received a $10,000 grant from the PBS initiative By the People: America in the World to examine how U.S. foreign policy affects Champaign-Urbana, with a particular emphasis on the international student population.
POV Refrigerator Mothers
WILL-TV sponsored a preview screening of the PBS national program P.O.V: Refrigerator Mothers with partner Project CHOICES. A follow-up discussion on autism with a medical and education experts as well as mothers of children with autism was broadcast on AM-580 at a special evening time.
