ARMOUR SQUARE — For more than 400 foster children at U.S. Cellular Field Wednesday, it was like Christmas in July.
More than 100 volunteers passed out more than $50,000 in new toys donated by the Toy Industry Foundation at no cost to foster families.
[Photos by DNAinfo/Ed Komenda]
South Shore grandfather and foster parent Roger Chandler enjoyed watching his foster kids — 9-year-old Kirk and 12-year-old Kayah — enjoy their new toys, including dolls, action figures and board games.
“They’re ecstatic,” Chandler said.
The children, ranging in age from toddlers to pre-teens, all come from Cook County’s foster care system. CASA of Cook County, a nonprofit that speaks up in court for abused and neglected children, organized the toy giveaway.
The Department of Children and Family Services and the Illinois Sports Facility Authority hosted the children and their foster families at the Cell, where kids had access to games, painting stations, washable tattoo parlors and free hot dogs.
Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson showed up to shake hands and talk with some of the children enjoying their new toys.
“It makes me feel good,” Johnson said. “This kind of event gives them hope. If they have hope, then I don’t have to be concerned with them. This is a wonderful thing.”
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