September 22, 2026 | Freeport, IL
Presented by Emily Parker
COMMUNITY CORNER | F4F NEWS
What began as one woman's personal journey in 2020 has grown into a community-based philanthropic organization bringing people together, meeting needs, and proving that sometimes the most meaningful change begins with a simple question: What can we do to help?
In 2020, Frankie McGee found herself recovering from major surgery, confined to her bed and struggling with feelings of loneliness and self-pity. As she lay there, she felt the Lord pushing her to stop feeling sorry for herself, get up, and start doing something.
Not just pushing herself to recover, but pushing herself to get out into the world and help others.
That experience became the inspiration for P.U.S.H., an organization whose name stands for Push Ur Self Hard.
What began as a positive social group has since evolved into an 11-member, community-based philanthropic organization with a straightforward philosophy: identify a need, figure out what you can do, and get to work.
Rather than waiting for someone to come asking for help, P.U.S.H. members often identify needs themselves. When they learn that someone is struggling, they come together, discuss what they can do, and take action.
Sometimes that means gathering clothing for homeless shelters. Other times, it means assembling baskets for new parents, helping families recover from house fires, or providing a support system for young people who have traveled thousands of miles from home.
The needs may change, but the philosophy remains the same.
"We do what we can."
More Than Just a Winter Coat
For P.U.S.H. Vice President Susan Euells, who has been involved with the organization for four years, one experience stands out.
When international students from Central and South America arrived in Freeport to play baseball at Highland Community College, they found themselves adjusting to far more than a new school and a new baseball team.
Many had left their families behind, traveled to a country where they did not speak the language, and exchanged the tropical climates they had known their entire lives for the bitter cold of a Midwestern winter.
Some lacked even the basic clothing necessary to stay warm.
P.U.S.H. learned about the situation and stepped in, providing winter coats to help the young men prepare for the weather.
But what began with a coat became something much more meaningful.
The students were pursuing an education and athletic opportunities, but P.U.S.H. members also recognized them as young people far from home, navigating unfamiliar surroundings without the family support system they had always known.
The organization embraced them as family.
And according to Euells, those relationships did not end when the students moved on. The connections have continued long after their time in Freeport.
It is an example of what makes the organization's work meaningful to its members. A winter coat can protect someone from the cold, but the relationships formed through an act of kindness can last for years.
For P.U.S.H., helping someone is not necessarily the end of a relationship. Sometimes, it is just the beginning.
Sometimes, It Really Does Take a Village
P.U.S.H. Treasurer Brenda LeBlanc sees the organization's work from another perspective: making the most of the resources its members have available.
Much of what P.U.S.H. has accomplished has been funded directly by the generosity of its own members.
Rather than allowing limited resources to determine whether they can help, members focus on what they can realistically provide.
When the organization learned about young mothers giving birth without some of the basic necessities needed to care for their newborns, members came together to assemble newborn baskets.
These baskets provide practical supplies while delivering another important message to new parents: you are not alone.
For families who have experienced house fires, P.U.S.H. assembles care kits to help them begin recovering from the loss.
A house fire can take away nearly everything a family owns in a matter of minutes. While a small collection of supplies cannot replace a home or a lifetime of possessions, it can provide immediate assistance and remind those affected that their community has not forgotten them.
The organization's reach also extends beyond Freeport.
Members have participated in fundraising efforts and charitable activities throughout the region, including efforts benefiting nursing home residents in Stockton and people experiencing homelessness in Rockford.
There is no single population the organization exists to serve, and no one type of need that defines its mission.
When asked to explain exactly what P.U.S.H. does, LeBlanc offers a simple answer.
"We do what we can."
Finding a Family in Freeport
For Janet Sledge, P.U.S.H. has provided something just as meaningful as the opportunity to help others: a sense of belonging.
Sledge moved to Freeport approximately five years ago and has been a member of P.U.S.H. for the past two.
When asked what keeps her involved, her answer reflects both her faith and her commitment to serving others.
"Because I'm not just helping myself. God wants me to help others."
But there is another reason she continues to be involved.
She loves the positivity of the organization and the relationships she has developed with its members.
After moving to a new community, Sledge found a family within P.U.S.H., a group of people who support her just as they support others throughout the region.
It is a reminder that community service is not always a one-way exchange between those providing assistance and those receiving it.
Sometimes the people doing the helping find that they, too, have been helped.
For Sledge, P.U.S.H. has become a place where friendship, faith, encouragement, and service come together.
Growing Without Losing What Makes P.U.S.H. Special
Looking back on what began in 2020, McGee says she could not be prouder of what P.U.S.H. has become.
She attributes much of the organization's success and reputation to its decision to remain relatively small and focused on its purpose.
Rather than concentrating on building a large membership or establishing an extensive organizational structure, P.U.S.H. has focused on responding to needs as they arise.
Its members do not spend their time worrying about what other organizations are doing or failing to do.
When they become aware of a problem, they sit down together and ask themselves what they can do about it.
Then they do it.
McGee acknowledges that the prospect of continued growth brings some apprehension. She wants the organization to expand its impact without losing the personal relationships, shared commitment, and willingness to act that have defined it from the beginning.
But she also recognizes the remarkable people already involved and the potential for them to help carry the organization forward.
Rather than viewing leadership as pushing everyone else in a particular direction, McGee sees her role as helping members move the organization forward together.
P.U.S.H. is also taking steps toward a more formal organizational structure.
According to LeBlanc, the group is currently pursuing nonprofit registration, a development that could help support its future activities.
For now, much of its work continues to be made possible by members who contribute their own time, money, and resources.
And while the organization considers what its future might look like, its members remain committed to the philosophy that brought them together.
They do what they can.
Coming Together for the Colors of Hope Cancer Ball
That same willingness to come together and help others will take center stage on Saturday, October 3, when P.U.S.H. partners with Men of Change to present the 2nd Annual Colors of Hope Cancer Ball at the Masonic Temple in Freeport.
The event will bring community members together for an evening of dinner, entertainment, and fundraising in support of the Cancer Society and the Ferguesen Cancer Center.
The ball will run from 6 p.m. until midnight, with live entertainment provided by The Synergy Band.
The evening's guest speaker will be Dr. Phyllis Nápoles, a general surgeon with Mercyhealth Physician Clinic–Riverside who specializes in the surgical management of cancers and complex conditions affecting several organs, including the pancreas, liver, stomach, and esophagus.
Dr. Nápoles has advanced training in abdominal transplant and hepatobiliary surgery, as well as surgical critical care. Her specialized work includes the Whipple procedure, a complex operation commonly associated with the treatment of certain pancreatic and related cancers.
Her participation will bring a medical perspective to an evening dedicated to supporting people affected by cancer.
The event is semi-formal, and tickets are $35 per person. Tickets will be available at the door, or guests can contact the organizers in advance.
2nd Annual Colors of Hope Cancer Ball
Saturday, October 3, 2026 | 6 p.m. – Midnight
Masonic Temple | Freeport, Illinois
Tickets: $35 per person | Semi-formal attire
For tickets or additional information, contact Tiffany Harris at (815) 238-9643, Susan Euells at (815) 238-5216, Jerry Harris at (815) 541-7568, or Ramero Stidmon at (815) 908-6277.
For P.U.S.H., the Colors of Hope Cancer Ball represents another opportunity to bring people together around a shared purpose.
It is also an opportunity for Freeport residents to become acquainted with an organization whose work often takes place quietly, without fanfare, and sometimes without the broader community ever knowing who was responsible.
A Little Love Goes a Long Way
Six years ago, Frankie McGee was recovering from surgery, feeling alone, and searching for a reason to get out of bed.
She felt called to push herself.
Today, that personal motivation has grown into an organization whose members are pushing themselves to make a difference in the lives of others.
A winter coat for a young man far from home. A basket for a new mother. A care kit for a family that has lost everything. A friendship for someone searching for a place to belong.
None of these acts, on its own, will solve every problem facing a community.
But each one can make a meaningful difference in someone's life.
And perhaps that is the lesson behind P.U.S.H.
You don't have to change the entire world to make someone's world a little better.
Sometimes, you simply have to see a need, ask what you can do, and get to work.
A little love. A little action. And a whole lot of community.
Investigative Reporting, Editing & Publication
Joshua T. Atkinson
Chairman | Fighting4Freeport