9th Annual Carousel of Possible Dreams at the Sanfilippo Estate In Barrington Hills, IL Raises Over $250,000 for Children’s Charities

The event benefited Boys & Girls Clubs of Dundee Township, The Chicago Academy for the Arts, Jessie Rees Foundation, Royal Family KIDS, Spirito! Singers, and Turning Pointe Autism Foundation

BARRINGTON HILLS, Ill. And COSTA MESA, Calif. (September 18, 2022) –The 9th Annual Carousel of Possible Dreams Chicago has raised over $250,000 to help fund the specific individual needs, or dreams, of six children’s charities, including: Boys & Girls Clubs of Dundee Township, The Chicago Academy for the Arts, Jessie Rees Foundation, Royal Family KIDS – Cook & Lake Counties Inc., Spirito! Singers, and Turning Pointe Autism Foundation. Created and produced by Festival of Children Foundation in partnership with the Sanfilippo Foundation, the event was held at the Sanfilippo Estate in Barrington Hills, Illinois, on the evening of Saturday, September 17, 2022. 275 guests attended the event that featured entertainment by Sprito! Singers, estate tours, including the newly opened Perfume Passage, and a cocktail reception in the Carousel Pavilion.

The event is quite unique as it serves as central fundraising effort to amplify and optimize fundraising efforts for each charity. Following six weeks of peer-to-peer fundraising, local civic, business and philanthropic leaders representing each charity climbed aboard the “Eden Palais,” a spectacular 19th century, European Salon carousel meticulously restored by the Sanfilippo family. As they rode the carousel up to 50 times around each, guests pledged donations to help the charities reach or surpass their individual fundraising goals. “Each of these six charities is exceptional in how they provide programs that have a profound impact so many children. We are honored to support them in this way,” said Sandy Segerstrom Daniels, founder and executive director, Festival of Children Foundation. “We are grateful to the Sanfilippo family for their support and opening up their magnificent estate to us again for this event.”

The Carousel of Possible Dreams is produced each year in partnership with the Sanfilippo Foundation of Barrington Hills by Festival of Children Foundation (FOCF), a national non-profit organization based in Orange County, California, that serves and supports nearly 500 children’s charities across the country. FOCF has also produced several other Carousel of Possible Dreams in Central Park in New York City, in Griffith Park in Los Angeles, at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, California, at the Children’s Creativity Museum in San Francisco, and Disneyland. To date, the initiative has raised $5M to fund 240 high- impact programs for children’s charities across the United States.

The six children’s charities in this year’s event are:
•The Chicago Academy for the Arts, whose Possible Dream is to provide a full scholarship through the Young Men’s Dance Initiative, which provides scholarship support to selected elite-level male dancers, who might not otherwise have the opportunity to attend The Academy’s life-changing program.
chicagoacademyforthearts.org

•The Boys & Girls Clubs of Dundee Township, whose possible dreams is to create a family impact fund to provide needed resources for hard-working moms. bgcdt.org

• Jessie Rees Foundation: Never Ever Give Up, whose Possible Dream is to provide 500 families with a child who is fighting cancer a financial gift during the month of December, to not just get through the holidays, but also to enjoy them with all the fun, hope and togetherness that the season brings. negu.org

• Royal Family KIDS, whose Possible Dream is a five-day summer camps and monthly mentoring clubs that are free to these children in foster care across the suburbs of Chicago. rfk.org/locations/illinois/lake-barrington

• Spirito! Singers, whose Possible Dream is to fund outreach events and offer financial assistance to even more deserving girls and young women. This dream will mean that girls who might not otherwise have had the ability to access this invaluable program will now have their voices heard and nurtured through the magic of music. spiritosingers.org

 • Turning Pointe Autism Foundation, whose Possible Dream is to expand access to enrichment programs including pet, music and art therapy. turningpointeautismfoundation.org

About Festival of Children Foundation
Festival of Children Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that serves to bring together and coordinate the efforts of charities, companies and individuals who work to improve the lives of children. 100% of the administrative costs are covered by designated funding, allowing donations to go further in
direct support of programs and services that improve the lives of children nationwide. For more information please visit www.festivalofchildren. org

Contact: Cassady Taylor
Festival of Children Foundation
(714) 438 – 3205
ctaylor@festivalofchildren.org

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