Introducing
A Brighter Future for Girls in Greater Peoria
The first cohort of the makeHERspace program is underway! This cohort launched on May 27, 2026 with 40 girls in 6th - 12th grade and 40+ volunteer mentors who will meet up and attend dozens of workshops through November 19, 2026 for the final reception and recognition night.
Want to be a mentor or volunteer to make a huge impact on the life of a young girl in your community? There are still tons of ways to get involved! We are looking for back-up mentors (for when life happens), subject-matter-experts, and volunteers for workshops in September, October, and November! Apply today!
Cohort One is live. Now let's build what's next.
In May 2026, forty girls from across Greater Peoria stepped into six months of mentorship, hands-on career workshops, and real industry access — free, for every family. It started as a pilot. It's becoming a model. Here's the data, the people, and the partners it will take to keep it going.
The data behind the launch.
Every number below represents a girl, a mentor, or an hour of real investment in Greater Peoria's next generation of builders.
Bravery and commitment, by name — even when we're not printing the names.
They said yes to something that didn't exist yet.
Forty girls from across Greater Peoria raised their hands for a program with no track record. They showed up to workshops on careers they'd never tried, sat across from mentors they'd never met, and chose curiosity over certainty — twice a month, for six months. That's exactly the kind of bravery an entrepreneurial ecosystem is built on.
They gave her their time, their expertise, and their Tuesday nights.
Forty women said yes too — 189+ hours (and counting) of their careers, hard-won knowledge, and honest advice, handed to a girl who needed to see herself reflected in it. Mentorship isn't a bonus feature of this program. It's the whole model, and it only works because they showed up.
Corporate sponsorships available.
Cohort One was funded to launch. Sustaining and growing makeHERspace for Cohort Two and beyond takes a broader coalition. Four ways to put your organization's name behind her future — every tier includes everything in the tier below it.
- Program co-naming with Distillery Labs
- Top logo placement, all materials
- Executive speaking slot at Kickoff & Celebration Night
- Custom co-designed workshop with your team
- First access to recruit from the graduating cohort
- Workshop naming rights (“The [Your Company] Workshop”)
- Present to the full cohort
- Reserved table at the end-of-cohort showcase
- Logo on all program marketing
- Workplace tour for cohort participants
- Logo on screens, booklets & materials
- Meal or event naming opportunity
- Recognition in every newsletter
- Complimentary showcase invitation
- Named in the printed program booklet
- Listed on the makeHERspace website
- Quarterly newsletter recognition
- First word on future cohort openings
Distillery Labs is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. All gifts and sponsorships are tax-deductible. In-kind contributions of goods, services, and expertise are welcome at every tier.
Ask About a TierWe need local employers to lead the next hands-on workshop.
We're seeking local employers to lead hands-on, experiential workshops for this cohort and future cohorts, in the following areas:*
* We currently have volunteers leading many of these workshops — but early feedback from students has been consistent: the sessions led by employers who can answer real, on-the-job questions are the most well-received.
** Workshop and mentor partners get instant access to a talent pipeline of 40+ career-ready young women.
*** Any organization that hosts or leads a workshop — or is represented by a volunteer facilitator or mentor — attends the end-of-cohort Career Fair at no cost. The Career Fair is open first to the cohort, then to high school students across the region.
It's not all workshops. Some nights are just for fun.
These community nights build cohort identity and give mentors and mentees space to just enjoy each other's company. Sponsors can provide materials, funding, snacks — or all three.
GlowUp Night
Hair and makeup, cosmetology, fashion, and photography come together for an unforgettable night of fun and glamour for students and mentors.
Paint & Sip Night
Students and mentors sip root beer floats and learn the basics of painting and illustration together.
Culinary Challenge
Mentors vs. mentees: who can decorate the most cupcakes and bake the tastiest sourdough bread?
Generational Trivia Night
Four teams — Boomers/Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha — battle across pop culture history from 1980 to today.
This isn't just good for the girls. It's good for Greater Peoria.
makeHERspace looks like a youth program. Underneath, it's regional economic strategy — a long-term bet on who builds the next generation of this region's companies.
01 · The Startup Ecosystem
Ten years earlier than most programs reach.
Distillery Labs exists to build Greater Peoria's entrepreneurial ecosystem, and that ecosystem depends on more than founders who are ready today. It depends on the long-term development of people who understand innovation, opportunity recognition, creative problem-solving, and risk-taking. makeHERspace reaches those people before their first big academic or career decision — and connects employers and community leaders to that talent while it's still forming.
02 · Confidence & Why Mentoring Is Critical
Confidence doesn't happen by accident.
It happens in the room with someone who's already done the thing you're scared to try. That's why every girl in makeHERspace is matched 1:1 with an anchor mentor for six months — not introduced to a speaker for an hour.
03 · Keeping Talent in Greater Peoria
Fighting brain drain starts at 14, not 24.
Greater Peoria has long lost talented young people to bigger cities the moment they have options. makeHERspace gives girls a professional network here, early — 35+ companies and dozens of mentors before they've even chosen a college. Students who build that network young are far more likely to come back and build their careers right here.
“makeHERspace is not just preparing students for the future of work. It is helping Greater Peoria build the future of innovation.”
The Strategic Read · Distillery Labs Board Brief, 2026Designed from day one to be repeatable.
makeHERspace was built as a program-in-a-box — a model other communities can adopt, not just admire. The plan: offer it first to partners across the Illinois Innovation Network, then to communities beyond. Every dollar invested in Cohort One helps prove a model that can multiply far past Greater Peoria.
Help us build what's next.
makeHERspace Cohort One is live. Cohort Two is already being planned. Whether you lead a company, a foundation, or you just believe in what forty girls in Greater Peoria just did — there's a place for you in this.