Pictured above: Steve Fairbanks. Steve loves the East Bluff Community Center as much as he loves the Beatles!

The EBCC Impact: Together We Can Strengthen the Community

By: Grayson Bourke


The East Bluff Community Center is an organization that is truly here for the community and has been built up by the community. Many people know the work it requires to immerse yourself in your community, build relationships, and get to know the neighborhood. Steve Fairbanks, a former EBCC board member, is someone who understands this and has dedicated himself to doing it.

Steve was on the EBCC Board from 2016 until 2020. He is a retired Neighborhood Development Specialist for the City of Peoria who lived in the East Bluff for many years organizing events such as neighborhood cleanups and resident meetings. He also assisted with the formation of the East Bluff Rebound basketball program here at the EBCC, a program that has greatly benefitted the East Bluff community and served dozens of neighborhood youth every year. Steve stated that the reason why he chose to live and work in the East Bluff is that “I enjoyed the neighborhood, the kids here, the density of the neighborhood, all that.”

The East Bluff is filled with successful small businesses, restaurants, and opportunities for redevelopment. Glen Oak Learning Center, the East Bluff’s elementary school, is a state-of-the-art K-8 school that facilitates a quality education and events for neighborhood kids. Glen Oak Park is a historic, beautiful green space on the eastern edge of the neighborhood that holds the Peoria Zoo and the Peoria Playhouse Children’s Museum. The EBCC is proud to be part of this neighborhood and to do what we can, with the help of people like Steve, to make it an even better place.

If you have thoughts about how the EBCC can be a resource for the community, or if there are services and programs you would like to see offered here, please do not hesitate to share them with us! If people like Steve had kept their ideas to themselves, the EBCC might not be here in the same capacity it is today. We invite neighbors and supporters to come by the EBCC any time or give us a call at 309-839-0781. Let’s keep strengthening the East Bluff together!