There’s no line item in most city budgets for bringing joy to children with deadly illnesses.
So a decade ago, Kurt DeGroot wanted to find a way to pay for the special gifts he and fellow firefighters were giving children with cancer they met on calls.
He came up with Project Fire Buddies, which started in Oak Forest, where he works as a firefighter/paramedic. He and his colleagues have provided toys and games, baseball bats, art supplies, outings to sporting events and concerts, surprise birthday visits and dream trips to places like Disney World to critically ill children ever since then. They tailor gifts to individual children and offer ongoing support.
The nonprofit has now branched out to more than 170 chapters across 15 states, including Calumet Park, Dixmoor, Merrionette Park, Tinley Park and University Park in Illinois.
But it’s taken a steady stream of fundraising.
“We were going through a lot of pediatric calls and noticed a couple of kids in town who were battling cancer,” said DeGroot. “When we saw that, I realized even though the kids felt really bad, they kind of brightened up when they saw the firefighters come in.
“But when I tried to do more, I realized they can’t put a line item in case there’s a child who’s ill. I saw there was something missing there,” said DeGroot.
DeGroot and colleagues recently learned they won Hollywood Casino Joliet’s gala, valued at $60,000. It will be an event at Hollywood Casino Joliet new 10,000-square-foot event center and will include enough food and non-alcoholic beverages, table wine service, A/V production and event staffing for 400 guests. The Hollywood Joliet team will offer 40 hours of volunteer support for the event.
“Hollywood Joliet received dozens of entries from local nonprofits, all doing incredible work in our community,” said Ruben Warren, vice president and general manager. “Through a review committee, Project Fire Buddies stood out for its long-standing commitment to the region and positive impact on the families it serves.
“We were very impressed by the organization and how this event giveaway can make a difference for its important work,” Warren said.
Though the event will probably be in the fall, it is expected to garner donations for the sick children, and some of the families will likely be there, too.
“This is a time when this business is opening its doors and looking to give back to the community,” said DeGroot, president and CEO of Project Fire Buddies. “For them to do that and select us was an absolute honor.
“It shows they care about the most vulnerable in their community,” he said.
Mike Lough, who works for the nonprofit out of Plainfield and is one of the territory managers, heard about the giveaway and applied.
“The event will strengthen our connection to the surrounding community and will allow more of our funds raised to go directly to our efforts, ultimately bringing joy to even more children,” said Lough in a news release.
Project Fire Buddies is hosting its own annual gala on Feb. 7 at the Tinley Park Convention Center, with an expected 1,500 attendees and 36 tickets for Fire Buddies families.
“Sometimes kids are healthy enough to come and sometimes it’s a night out for mom and dad — either way, I feel like they deserve it,” DeGroot said.
DeGroot said he felt so passionate about helping kids that early on he got his wife, two sons and daughter (now adults) involved in planning and deliveries. When he started out without much funding, his children agreed to each get only one Christmas present so more could go to the kids in need.
“This would have failed were it not for my family,” DeGroot said.
Janice Neumann is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
