Marissa Kenny recalls her late son Will’s penchant for science and technology, robots and machinery.
“Will was just a born tinkerer,” she said. “He loved to take things apart; he was fascinated how they worked. He’d put them back together again, and maybe they'd be put back together correctly or maybe they wouldn't. But he was always building something — robots, Legos, whatever it was. He just was a very hands-on kid, just fascinated by it.”
Following his death in February 2024, the nonprofit Will Kenny Foundation was established in his memory to benefit educational programs in Central Illinois.
“We had a lot of friends, family, our extended community, reaching out and ask what they could do,” said Marissa Kenny, who serves as the foundation’s president. “So, we decided to honor Will by creating a scholarship for incoming freshmen at Notre Dame [High School]. With that, the students would compose an essay of their vision of the perfect robot and how they would build it and how it would help people.”
The group has provided three scholarships so far, and now it’s hoping to do even more.
“Our mission is to offer grants to Central Illinois schools to help further their STEM programs. For example, if a teacher wants to implement a 3D-printing lesson into her curriculum, we could potentially help facilitate that purchase,” said Kenny.
That desire has led to a partnership with Black Band Distillery. The establishment based in Peoria’s Warehouse District has crafted “The Bear,” a custom small-batch whiskey created specifically to benefit the foundation.
Black Band will debut the limited edition whiskey on Thursday during a special “Whiskey + Robots” fundraiser from 5-9 p.m.
“Black Band offered to help support us, so we teamed up with them and ‘Whiskey + Robots’ was born,” said Kenny. “We wanted to create a unique experience and approach to fundraising, and we were very fortunate to have the support of a generous local business.”
She said the organization is in the process of establishing additional funding opportunities — targeted to launch later this year or early next year — that will help area schools boost their STEM programming.
“With our grant process, we’ll communicate to school boards and ask that teacher, director, or even something as a Lego League,” she said. “If there's something that they would like to help further their STEM programs or maybe offer entry fees; there's a lot of contests for Lego Leagues throughout the area. So, we would hope to give back in that way to the community, and then continue with our scholarship program at Notre Dame.”
The “Whiskey + Robots” event will feature tastings from Black Band, live music, a buffet dinner, and raffle prizes. Limited quantities of “The Bear” will be available for purchase, with all proceeds supporting the Will Kenny Foundation and its mission.
