There was a special event that took place last Saturday at Halas Hall.
The Bears and Bears Care hosted the 16th annual Back to School Fair at 2024 EGO outdoor Power Equipment Chicago Bears Training Camp. The event was supported by PNC Bank, the official bank of the Bears, for the ninth straight year and welcomed more than 1,500 guests from underserved communities on the West Side of Chicago, with a focus on the Austin neighborhood.
The Back to School Fair supports students from Pre-K to eighth grade on their educational journey and is a key initiative for Bears Care and its partners. More than 1,000 backpacks that PNC Bank employee volunteers and Bears staff families filled with school supplies were distributed at the event.
Bears Care has now held three Back to School Fairs during training camp at Halas Hall.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity to host families from different neighborhoods in and around Chicago who can use a little bit of extra support getting their children ready for the upcoming school year,” said director of Bears Care Marge Hamm. “To be able to provide the supplies and services we make available at the Fair to our guests is important, but to be able to do that while also offering the families the special experience of watching the Chicago Bears practice at Halas Hall makes for a memorable day.”
Hamm said that for most guests who attend the event it provides their first chance to engage with the Bears in person. It also creates a touch point for Bears Care to broaden its reach and learn more about some of the smaller not-for-profit neighborhood organizations that play critical roles in supporting their communities.
Resources that were given out at the Back to School Fair included:
- Backpacks filled with school supplies provided by PNC Bank
- Haircuts provided by Funk’s Barbershop
- Books provided by Young, Black & Lit
- Produce bags provided by Northern Illinois Food Bank
- Beverages provided by Dr Pepper
- Two kids bedroom sets donated by Steinhafels
- Potato chips by Frito Lay
- Snacks by SNICKERS
- Pizza by Connie’s Pizza
- Bags of popcorn by Nuts on Clark
- Hot dogs by Vienna Beef
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at News…