A week after the Taylorville tornado ripped through the town, the University of Illinois Springfield Prairie Stars wanted to find a way to give back to a community in need.
During their women's basketball game against Lincoln Christian University, they took donations that would go towards the Taylorville Food Pantry and the Mission for Taylorville.
Assistant athletic director Ashlyn Beasley said, "I come from a small town in Illinois. Hearing about the impact and the destruction that happened in Taylorville, it really hit home for me because I do know people in that area. I know that I would want the same in my small town. So I worked with our assistant women's basketball coach, Cameron Clayton, whose dad and family and friends live in Taylorville, and thought that there's something that we need to do. We have a basketball game Saturday afternoon. Let's make it our Taylorville Strong game. Be able to bring the community in, embrace them, raise some funds and be able to give back to Missions for Taylorville as well as the Taylorville food pantry."
This story appeared on WICS Newschannel 20 on December 8, 2018.
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