Holiday for Hope

Today, as Holiday for Hope celebrates its 20th anniversary, it is the largest holiday event of its kind in the world. With over 1,000 homeless and severely underprivileged kids celebrating in Chicago and similar events hosted in countries all over the world, it is difficult to believe how it all began- with just a group of a dozen volunteers visiting a tiny room of a small homeless shelter on the Southside of Chicago on Christmas Eve, 1989.

On that day, twenty years ago, Tom Tuohy, his mother, brother and sister, and a group of their friends visited Clara’s House Shelter to bring the Holiday Spirit to 54 kid and their mothers. The children were giddy with joy to have such a rare celebration of food, songs, smiles, and gifts. Most importantly, they were reminded, no matter their situation, there were people in the world who cared about them, and there were better days ahead.

However, it wasn’t until the volunteers prepared to leave and Clara pulled them aside, that they would learn just how important their visit was to the kids and their mothers. Clara simply said, “If you would not have come, these kids would never have known it was Christmas.” Clara explained the shelter could not afford gifts, nor could the mothers of the children. These kids would wake in a strange bed or no bed at all, and with no home of their own. A commitment was made that day. Every child, especially children who have so little, deserve to be given hope and the gift of celebrating the Holiday Season. So this small group agreed to reach further into the community and to find as many kids as possible – and give them the gift of hope.

In a few short years, the Dreams for Kids local Holiday celebration grew to become the largest of its kind in the State of Illinois, bringing over 1,000 kids together for a spectacular day of food, music, games, clowns, face painters, and a shopping bag full of gifts for each child.

Today, this event, Holiday for Hope, brings individuals and groups in over 30 countries around the world together. From visits to shelters and orphanages to grand parties in the street and in churches, global communities celebrate this special Season and provide their underprivileged and homeless children with a day filled with generosity, love, and hope which carries into the New Year.  Click here to learn more about our global Holiday for Hope celebrations.

During the month of December, please join us, as we bring the forgotten children of our world together to celebrate life, each other, and hope for a new year better than the last. Let us come together, people of all faith and culture, to honor and celebrate children of all abilities and give each of them every reason to believe their future will be bright.

Get Involved in Holiday for Hope!

• Click here to download our Toy Drive Flyer, so you can start a toy drive near you!
• Become one of our invaluable sponsors!  Click here for sponsorship information or contact Shellyg@dreamsforkids.org.
• Please contact us for information on events in your area, or to plan an event of your own!

Download the Holiday for Hope Planning Guide or the Holiday for Hope Guidelines.
Download Chapters 8 and 9 of the Dreams for Kids book and read the story of how Holiday for Hope began!

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Traditional market

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