July 21, 2025
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Still I Rise receives grant from Midland State Bank Foundation

Funding will go toward its Financial Literacy Program

By Shaw Local News Network
Traffic travels along Route 45 past Shapiro Developmental Center on June 11, 2025. Seventy acres of unutilized land on the south end of Shapiro's campus has been tabbed for the state’s new “Surplus to Success” program.

Traffic travels along Route 45 into Kankakee. (Tiffany Blanchette)

Still I Rise received a $7,500 grant from Midland States Bank that will support the Still I Rise Financial Literacy Program.

“Midland States Bank grant for Still I Rise Financial Literacy Program will help expand our reach as we continue to educate and empower the community’s youth regarding being financially responsible,” Still I Rise Executive Director Tocarra Eldridge-Robinson said in a news release.

Over the past several years, Still I Rise, a non-profit organization founded in 2014, has earned many awards for the work they have pursued, such as the Kankakee County Chamber of Commerce - Nonprofit of the Year Award, the NAACP Presidents Award, Most Dynamic Youth Leadership Development NPO, just to name several.

“Together with our Community Impact Investment Statement, the Midland States Bank Foundation is a powerful way for us to give back to our communities,” said Jeffrey G. Ludwig, President and CEO of Midland States Bancorp, Inc.

“The funds we set aside from the Bank’s profits help us put our company’s culture in action to benefit the communities we serve.”

The Midland States Bank Foundation supports the general welfare, education and health of the communities where the bank operates.

Since its creation in 2011, the foundation has contributed more than $1.9 million to non-profit organizations throughout Midland’s footprint.