Sterling Wallace students share a bagel breakfast with local heroes

STERLING – Students at Sterling Wallace Head Start shared breakfast Thursday with some special guests.

The school at 506 W. Fourth St. is part of the Tri-County Opportunities Council’s Head Start Program, which serves over 500 children and their families with free early childhood education and supplemental assistance services throughout Bureau, Carroll, LaSalle, Lee, Marshall, Ogle, Putnam, Stark and Whiteside counties.

Sterling Site Supervisor Amber Stavenger said the school’s “Breakfast with Heroes” event invited members from both Rock Falls and Sterling’s police and fire departments to share a bagel breakfast with students to help foster positive connections with them.

“A lot of our kids are from low-income families, and so we are always trying to give them positive role models, usually male role models, because a lot of them may not have that male figure at home,” Stavenger said. “What better person to look up to than the people that you see all the time driving by in their cool squad cars and fire trucks.”

TCOC offers preschool services through its Head Start and Early Head Start programs, which are designed to assist low-income families and those with children who have a diagnosed disability. All programs are free for eligible families receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.

“As long as they get SNAP benefits of any amount, they’re eligible for our program,” Stavenger said. “And technically, if they are eligible for our program, they are eligible for our other programs, like LIHEAP.”

TCOC offers a wide range of assistance programs, including food, housing and energy assistance, workforce development and job training, financial assistance, community services, disaster relief, health and wellness programs, senior services, emergency food and shelter programs, and others.

The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program provides assistance through a one-time payment to an eligible customer’s energy bill. The LIHEAP Furnace program provides furnace repair and replacement assistance for income eligible applicants who are current on their mortgage and property taxes.

To qualify for LIHEAP assistance, a household’s combined income must be at or below 200% of federal poverty guidelines. Households with electric or heating that are included in the rent may also be eligible to receive cash benefits if their rent is greater than 30% of their income.

These are the LIHEAP 2025 income eligibility guidelines for household sizes:

The TCOC offers a wide range of assistance programs, including food, housing and energy assistance, workforce development and job training, financial assistance, community services, disaster relief, health and wellness programs, senior services, emergency food and shelter programs, and others.

To apply for one of these programs, visit tcochelps.org or call 800-323-5434 to reach the Rock Falls office at 405 Emmons Ave.