A Legacy of Giving: Larry Huggins Shares the History of Christmas in the Wards
A 2024 Like No Other!
2024 IMPACTS:
Making A Difference
625
Families Served
40
Chicago Wards
Participating
5
Proviso Townships
Participating
1
Kankakee County
2500
Coats Given
150
Laptops & Bikes
$30K
In Food Security
5,000
Donated Toys
Shopping with the Wards
Christmas in Southland
2024 Holiday Season
28th Annual Christmas in the Wards
Pictured l to r: Executive Director LaToyia Huggins and her father Larry Huggins founder of Christmas in the Wards
Christmas in the Wards continues to bring more wards and Chicagoland communities and townships into its network of communities, forging lasting partnerships and generous sponsorships with corporations, foundations, the construction industry, and civic leaders supporting thousands of families each year. The goal: to create Christmas Spectaculars like no other!
Today, Christmas in the Wards and its supporting Wards 365 platform serves over 40 Chicago wards and neighboring Chicago Southland and Proviso Township communities in three Christmas Events. Each unique event will provide needs and wishes to hundreds of deserving families selected by school and community officials.
The Reason For The Season
A Message From Our Founder
Christmas in the Wards continues its mission to broaden its reach and serve the diverse and culturally rich communities and the families and students that comprise them throughout Chicago. Historically marginalized, hard-to-count communities know all too well the realities of access gaps in goods and services, inequities in resources, and the struggles of resiliency in their neighborhoods.
We know that families strive 365 days a year, yet the strains are felt most during the holiday season, what we collectively call “the most wonderful time of the year.” As disparities widen for so many our mission deepens to bridge needs through clothing and essentials for families, laptops and tutoring services for students, food and nutrition support, and special gifts from Santa to aid families, ease burdens, and spread the true spirit and meaning of Christmas.
Our first Christmas event in 1996 was in a small gym for approximately 50 south side, Englewood families supporting the community that nurtured me as a youth. 2021 marked our 25th anniversary and largest all-city Christmas event to date and expansion into Proviso communities. We hosted 1200 families from 42 Chicago south, west, and north side wards at Laptops on the Lane at Soldier Field. This year Christmas in the Wards will expand again to welcome Chicago area Southland communities into our family for its inaugural Christmas in Southland spectacular.
Our motto is it takes a city to do what we do, and with your support, our mission continues. We hope you join us!
With Gratitude,
Larry Huggins
What We Do
Each year we work with our civic leaders, schools, business, and community partners throughout Chicago to bring the spirit of the season to hard-working families, deserving students, and our youth. We dedicate 100% of our resources for the sole purpose to serve.
We accomplish this by selecting with our aldermen over 100 deserving families each year from the wards of Chicago who would otherwise go without not only toys-but essentials like food and clothing. We partner with civic leaders and public officials like Congressman Rush each year to give over 50 laptops to college-bound freshman who achieve academic excellence in their secondary education and students who excel in extracurricular endeavors. In 2016 the entire Wendell Phillips Academy football team, Chicago’s first public school team winning the state football title, received laptops from Christmas in the Wards.
Civic Testimonials
"When we join hands, remembering the gifts that we have been granted throughout our lives, we can similarly be of service and ensure that the spirit of the holidays remains alive for all, no matter their circumstances. From a small Englewood gymnasium to a city-wide celebration of community, Christmas in the Wards is an annual testament of the power of generosity. Happy Holidays and may your new year bring you love and happiness."
— JB Pritzker
Governor, State of Illinois
“I am grateful to celebrate another holiday season with Christmas in the Wards. Now in its 23rd year, this is a tradition I look forward to each year because of the joy it brings to communities while also providing vital opportunities for scholarships, education tools, and technology to transform lives.”
— Toni Preckwinkle
President, Cook County Board of Commissioners
“I encourage everyone to take the time to think about how you can be a better neighbor to those in need and to reach out and volunteer in your neighborhoods and across the city to help everyone enjoy their own holiday season as best they can.”
— Lori Lightfoot
52nd Mayor, City of Chicago
