Economy won't spoil Christmas for needy suburban kids

This Christmas, thanks to Communities that Care, Santa won't forget about scores of needy children throughout the Northwest suburbs.

The nonprofit organization has collected a total of 2,200 donated gifts for the kids, ensuring that they will have a merrier Christmas.

"It's really heartwarming to know ... that Santa didn't pass over their house," said Diane Larrabee, executive director of Communities that Care.

This marks the eighth Christmas the Lake Zurich-based group has made the holiday possible for the less fortunate.

Leaders expected 2009 to be one of the group's most challenging, but thankfully that prediction didn't come to pass.

"We weren't quite sure what to expect, with the economy, but it's amazing to see people come through and help these kids this year," Larrabee said.

Communities that Care used donated space inside a Lake in the Hills mall to organize the gifts, which volunteers later packaged and loaded into vehicles. This year, 150 volunteers helped out with that process, Larrabee said.

The gifts are being distributed to the 10 social service agencies that partner with Communities that Care.

Those groups then forward them to needy children living in Lake, Cook and DuPage counties.

Since the group was founded in 2002, it has collected 25,000 gifts for 16,000 kids.

It runs similar drives for birthdays and back-to-school supplies.

If you would like to send a gift to a child through the program, call Communities that Care at (847) 726-0077.