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Christmas in the Wards Marks 29th Year With 10,000 Gifts for Chicago Children

Ward offices with corporate sponsors convened at McCormick Place for a unified Santa's Workshop.

Overview

  • Organizers reported helping more than 2,000 kids from about 700 families at Saturday's event.
  • Elected leaders from across the city participated, though accounts differed on whether all 50 wards or 39 were present at once.
  • Gifts matched children's wish lists and ranged from laptops and bicycles to winter coats and televisions.
  • Founder Larry Huggins noted the program’s evolution from an Englewood initiative into one of the country’s largest local toy drives.
  • In Lombard, firefighters and volunteers continued collecting and sorting donations for Teen Parent Connections and Toy Express, with additional drop-off sites operating this week.