Backyard Charity Carnivals
Although our 6th Annual Carnival was our last backyard carnival, Abby Horan Charities was fortunate enough to get to host our 7th carnival, an end-of-the-summer celebration for the 250 children of the Kids on Track non-profit day camp. The Kids on Track children live with their families on Arlington Park's backstretch in very low-income situations. The day camp wasn't able to afford to put on their own carnival for the kids this summer due to budget cuts. Thank you SO much to our amazing volunteers and donors for making our first carnival for the backstretch kids such a big success!
Abby Horan Charities' first ever fundraiser was led by Abby in the summer following her kindergarten graduation, in 1999. The fundraiser became an annual event for many years, raising a combined total of over $10,000 for local families in need. The 6th Annual Backyard Carnival (held in 2007) benefited Emily, a six-year-old family friend of Abby's who passed away just a week before the event from leukemia, and was the final and biggest of the backyard carnivals. With over 400 guests in attendance (including Miss Illinois and Grabowski, the Chicago Wolves mascot) and dozens of youth and adult volunteers, the last carnival raised over $5,500 for Emily's medical fund and Bear Necessities, an organization dedicated to fighting pediatric cancer. Thank you to all who helped the backyard carnivals become as successful as they were!
Pictures from the 6th Annual Backyard Carnival
History of the Backyard Charity Carnivals
1999: The first AHC fundraiser (which was technically the birth of Abby Horan Charities!) raised about $20 for a local teenager paralyzed from the neck down in a football injury.2000: The next event raised a slightly larger amount for the same teenager.
2002: This carnival benefited the memorial track at our local middle school, which was built in memory of a student who passed away unexpectedly from leukemia.
2004: The 2004 carnival was held in honor of a family friend who eventually succumbed to sarcoma (bone cancer). Proceeds ($217) went to a sarcoma research foundation.
2006: Our first "big" backyard carnival raised about $1,250 for Emily, a six-year-old family friend who was fighting leukemia, and her medical fund. We also raised money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation in Emily's honor.
2007: The last of our carnivals raised over $5,500 for Emily's medical fund and for Bear Necessities, a Chicago-based organization dedicated to helping those affected by pediatric cancer and fighting for a cure. Over 400 guests attended the event.
2011: Abby put together a carnival for the backstretch children of Arlington Park, where she works as the volunteer coordinator for the Kids on Track day camp (a non-profit day camp for the children who live with their parents on the backstretch; see the "Catch the Reading Bug Campaign" page for more information). Thanks to an awesome group of volunteers and many generous donors, we were able to provide the 250 camp kids with an unforgettable carnival to celebrate the last day of camp.