UPDATED 1:40 P.M.
PEORIA, Ill. – Students across central Illinois will benefit from the largest educational gift the Peoria Riverfront Museum has ever received.
The museum announced the gift of $1 million on Tuesday to create the “Glen and Polly Barton Educational Endowment Fund.” It will support the “Every Student Initiative” program, as well as other educational programming at the museum.
“What we’re gearing this gift towards is improving the quality of the ‘Every Student Initiative,’” said the museum’s Everley Davis, who also runs the initiative. “So we have a team of education guides, we’re looking to get more data back to see how a museum experience every year impacts the growth and development of every child.”
The “Every Student Initiative” program provides curricula-friendly trips to the museum for students in area schools. And it also provides them with free family passes in order to return to the museum on a future date.
It sponsors more than 14,000 students at nearly 50 schools in central Illinois.
The gift announced on Tuesday was provided by Polly Barton, who also provided initial funding for the program in 2017 with a $250,000 gift with the Barton Family Foundation. The gift was renewed in 2022.
“Of all the work we do as a museum, the Every Student Initiative is most important to our future. We are truly grateful to Polly Barton, her commitment to education, and this investment in the future of our community,” said John Morris, Peoria Riverfront Museum President and CEO.
