Becky Canfield and Irene Ponce know exactly what the Community Room at the Galesburg Public Library looks like when it’s full.
They can picture the tables covered in scholarship applications. The hum of conversation between families. The music, the laughter, the quiet work of planning something that will help someone else move forward.
“We used to joke,” Irene says, smiling, “that we had four and a half members.”
For them, the Library has never been just a building.
It’s where their work happens.
And where their story continues.
A Friendship Rooted in Service
Becky and Irene each spent nearly three decades working at Knox College, Becky for 26 years and Irene for 28. Retirement may have changed their routines, but not their commitment to Galesburg.
Their connection to the Hispanic Latino Resource Group began the way many community stories do, through relationship. A fundraiser dance ticket led to a meeting. A meeting led to involvement. And before long, they found themselves helping sustain a group that, at times, relied on just a handful of dedicated members.
“It’s just part of what we do,” Becky says. “We gather. We plan. We figure out how to help.”
For years, those gatherings have often taken place at the Library, a consistent, welcoming space where ideas turn into action.
Education as Empowerment
The Hispanic Latino Resource Group was formed in the late 1990s with a clear purpose: help Latino families navigate systems that can feel unfamiliar, especially for those new to the community.
Financial aid.
College applications.
Scholarships.
Workshops.
“We realized families didn’t always know where to start,” Irene explains. “So we tried to make sure they knew help was available.”
In 2002, the group began awarding scholarships to local Hispanic and Latino students. What started as $500 awards has grown into $1,000 scholarships. Over time, they have awarded more than $50,000 to students pursuing their next steps after high school.
They’ve adjusted along the way, simplifying applications, moving them online, and working closely with school counselors to reach more students. Now, they’re also thinking about how to support trade school students and non-traditional career paths.
“We need the welders and the plumbers and the nurses,” Becky says. “Those careers are essential too.”
Much of that work, reviewing applications, meeting as a group, and planning what comes next, continues to happen at the Library.
Preserving History, Honoring Stories
Their connection to the Library extends beyond meetings.
When the group hosted a Latino Veterans recognition project, families brought in photographs and documents that told stories spanning generations. Library staff helped scan and preserve those materials in the Archives, ensuring they wouldn’t be lost.
“That meant a lot,” Irene says. “Those stories matter.”
For Irene, that work is deeply personal.
Her father was born in a boxcar in 1921, part of the early Mexican railroad worker community in Galesburg. Families lived in railroad camps, built lives here, and raised children who would go on to serve in the military, work in education, and contribute to the community in lasting ways.
Some of those experiences weren’t easy. Irene remembers stories of housing restrictions and segregation, and of her father, a World War II veteran, insisting that “things have to change.”
That belief, that opportunity should be accessible, that people should feel seen and supported, still shapes the work of the Resource Group today.
And the Library remains one of the places where those stories are preserved, shared, and understood.
A Place That Brings It All Together
The Library has also been part of Becky and Irene’s lives in quieter, everyday ways.
Becky remembers bringing her children to the old library building for summer reading programs, a rhythm that helped shape their early years. Today, she reads on her Kindle, but the connection to the Library hasn’t gone away.
Irene attends programs in the Community Room, from cultural events to gatherings that bring people together in different ways. She’s seen the space shift and adapt depending on what the community needs.
“The room gets used for everything,” she says. “It’s wonderful.”
For both of them, the Library is a place where different parts of community life meet, education, history, culture, and connection.
Looking Ahead
The Hispanic Latino Resource Group continues to meet. Scholarships continue to grow. Their annual dance fundraiser, held during Hispanic Heritage Month, continues to bring people together.
They’re always thinking about what comes next. How to reach more students. How to support different paths. How to make sure opportunities continue.
They welcome new members.
They welcome support.
They welcome connection.
For Becky and Irene, the Library isn’t just where their work happens.
It’s where it comes together.
A place where students take their next step.
Where families see their histories preserved.
Where neighbors gather and ideas take shape.
And today, it serves as a place where that work continues to take shape.
