FIRST LADY AND MARSHALL FIELD’S
TEAM UP TO SUPPORT FOSTER CARE

CHICAGO, IL, APRIL 11, 1997 -- Illinois First Lady Brenda Edgar will appear at the Marshall Field’s store at 111 N. State Street to sign her P.J. Huggabee teddy bears from noon until 1 p.m. on Tuesday. April 15. Between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Marshall Field’s will collect new and quality used toy and clothing donations for Illinois Foster Children. Information about child abuse prevention will also be available at the store. Both events are being held in recognition of Child abuse Prevention Month.
"The plight of abused and neglected children has been brought to the forefront in recent years, leaving concerned Illinois citizens looking for a way to help," said the first lady. "By purchasing a P.J. Huggabee bear or donating items to DCFS foster children, you are helping to put a hurting child’s life back together."

The P.J. Huggabee program is partnership between Marshall Field’s and the First Lady’s Help Me Grow program. The bear was created to provide children taken into the protective custody of the Department of Children and Family Services with a sense of security and companionship during this critical time. With the purchase of one bear, an identical bear is donated to a child entering the Illinois foster care system. Each bear includes a brochure that details different forms of abuse, ways to prevent it and how to report it. Since its inception in 1994, the program has provided more than 25,000 bears to abused and neglected children. It has been so successful in Illinois that first ladies in Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin have introduces the program in their states.

All toy and clothing donations collected on April 15 will be used by foster children and families in the Chicago metropolitan area. DCFS accepts all types of donations for the children in its care. For information on how to help, contact the Office of Communications and Community Relations at (312) 814-6847.

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