“
More than 2,000 shoppers
from Peoria and the surrounding
committees shopped at the ‘kids
only’ store in 2011. The Stocking
Stuffer Store is the only store of
its kind open to the public in the
Peoria area. It’s truly a staple in
central Illinois,” Easton said.
The store will be open at
Northwoods Mall starting Dec.
1
from 4 to 8 p.m. weekdays,
10
a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays
and noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays
through Dec. 19.
It will be open weekends only
at The Shoppes at Grand Prai-
rie the first three weekends of
December from noon to 8 p.m.
on Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m.
Sundays.
ABOUT CRITTENTON CENTERS
Crittenton Centers has been serving
Peoria and all of central Illinois since
1892.
Originally a maternity home
for unwed mothers, the agency
has evolved into a multi-service,
multi-million dollar not-for-profit child
welfare organization that serves
a diverse population of children,
adolescents, young adults and
parents.
According to the organization’s
history, the Florence Crittenton Home
in Peoria started much the same way
as missions that were established
in larger cities in the late 1800s —
businesses by day, gospel house/
soup kitchen by night.
The Crittenton Home of Blessing
was built in 1892 at a cost of $8,500
at the corner of Richmond and North
streets in Peoria. Said the Crittenton
Centers’ website, “The mission of
the home was to care for many girls
and women being ruined through
influence of evil companions in the
60
wine rooms and 300 saloons in
Peoria.”
The center later built a home on
Heading Avenue in West Peoria
where for many years babies were
delivered in small hospital facilities
on the premises. That closed in 1965.
The Crisis Nursery opened in 1980
and the website said it was the first
such program in Illinois to provide
short term care for families in crisis
to prevent child abuse and neglect.
The residential center on Heading
Avenue closed in 2002 and Crittenton
moved to the current location at 442
John Gwynn Jr. Ave.
Today, Crittenton is a service
provider for several Departments
of the State of Illinois including
the Illinois Department of Human
Services, the Illinois Department of
Children & Family Services and the
Illinois State Board of Education.
It also is the hub agency for the
Strengthening Families through Early
Care & Education’s Peoria pilot site
and learning network.
54
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