March for Kids originally began with Mercy Home’s participation in area St. Patrick’s Day parades, which dates back more than 30 years. This year, our floats made their way down the routes of the Chicago St. Patrick’s Day Parade and the South Side Irish Parade.

At both events, our radio partner US99 provided on-air personalities and music to help pump up the crowd and attract attention to our marchers.

Meanwhile, on the morning of the Chicago St. Patrick’s Day Parade, our television partner ABC7 Chicago welcomed a few of our coworkers on their newscast for the second time this month to help us get the word out and encourage the public to support our mission.

On March 16, friends of our Home, including board members and their families, joined us in parading down Columbus Dr. near Grant Park. And on March 17, St. Patrick’s Day, we were excited to welcome once again some of our young ladies as the guests of honor on our South Side Irish Parade float that traveled along Western Ave and through the community that houses our Walsh Campus for Girls.

In addition, our friends at Wintrust helped get the word out about March for Kids by including us on their billboard along I-90.