Bringing Holiday Magic to Life for Deserving Chicago Students
The Daisie Foundation (DF) exists to empower women and children in underserved communities. Since its founding in 2016, DF has dedicated its time providing opportunities to Chicago, Milwaukee, and Houston neighborhoods in need of support, guidance, and ultimately love. The work is rooted in random acts of kindness. This holiday season, DF is teaming up with Meijer, ComEd, and a host of other sponsors to carry out their 7th annual Holiday Magic event at Howe School of Excellence in Chicago on December 13th, 2023. The event will consist of surprising 500 deserving west side students with a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus, gift giving with help from the elves, and a holiday-themed dance party! Panera will be providing lunch for all students and over 100 teachers. By the end of this week, DF will have surprised 2,200 students and 420 teachers and staffers throughout Chicago, Milwaukee, and Houston.
Here’s what Principal Karla Kemp of Deneen School of Excellence had to say about the event: “The students entered into the doorways of the assemblies with faces of awe and surprise as they were greeted by a long line of festively dressed volunteers cheering them on, giving high fives, and dancing to the lively music. The day was beyond what we could have imagined and now will always be a momentous event for the lives of our students and teachers.”
Sponsors for this year’s event include: Meijer, ComEd, Panera, Exelon, Old National Bank, Molina Healthcare, Shiraleah, Benefit Cosmetics, Penske, ROW 24, Women’s Bar Association of Illinois, Raising Canes, Kraft Foods, Pendry Hotel, Pink Pewter, Daisie Project and Wantable.
Schedule
- Wednesday, December 13th, 2023
- Event: Holiday Magic in Chicago
- Time: 9:30am-1:00pm
- Location: Howe School of Excellence 720 N Lorel Ave, Chicago, IL 60644
- Hosted by: Anthony “Spice” Adams, Former Chicago Bears player and TV Host & Cortney Hall, Emmy-nominated host of NBC Chicago’s lifestyle show “Chicago Today”
About The Daisie Foundation
Making their mark in Chicago since 2016, DF is a nationally recognized organization whose mission lies in empowering women and children in overlooked communities by providing ongoing opportunities to succeed and access to resources. Their work is rooted in random acts of kindness that, over the years, have impacted 3,700 mothers and 8,900 students and counting. In December of 2020, DF expanded their efforts to women and children in Houston, TX, which shares many of the same economic and social challenges in its communities.
About Meijer
Meijer is a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer that operates more than 500 supercenters, Meijer Grocery, neighborhood markets and Express locations throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin. A privately-owned and family-operated company since 1934, Meijer pioneered the “one-stop shopping” concept and has evolved through the years to include expanded fresh produce and meat departments, as well as pharmacies, comprehensive apparel departments, pet departments, garden centers, toys and electronics. For additional information on Meijer, please visit www.meijer.com.
About ComEd
ComEd is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ: EXC), a Fortune 250 energy company with approximately 10 million electricity and natural gas customers—the largest number of customers in the U.S. ComEd powers the lives of more than 4 million customers across northern Illinois or 70 percent of the state’s population. For more information, visit ComEd.com.
