Mercy Home for Boys and Girls' March for Kids

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Mark Schmeltzer, Director of Communications at the Mercy Home for Boys and Girls, said volunteers plan to spread the word about their campaign to end child abuse as Chicago celebrates St. Patrick's Day.

(PRESS RELEASE)

As part of Mercy Home for Boys & Girls' March for Kids campaign, volunteers will be out in force on Chicago area streets and at St. Patrick's Day Parades and celebrations this month, collecting donations and raising awareness that help save children from abuse. This year, volunteers across the country are also setting up their own 'virtual marches' and raising support online for Mercy Home through the March for Kids CrowdRise website. March for Kids is the public's opportunity to make a lasting difference for children who come the Mercy Home from environments marked by poverty, violence, and especially, abuse. Changing outcomes for kids like these is so critical to our future that Mayor Rahm Emanuel has proclaimed the month of March 2015 to be "Mercy Home for Boys and Girls March for Kids Month" in Chicago.

Now in its 20th year and built upon the success of its forerunner campaign known as "Shamrocks for Kids," the March for Kids campaign will continue to feature teams of street volunteers who will collect donations to the Home and hand out Mercy Home Shamrocks as a way of saying thank you. Mercy Home Shamrocks are a great way to show solidarity with children in need. In addition to donation drives by area businesses, schools and community groups, March for Kids volunteers will collect contributions at Chicago-area St. Patrick's Day parades and celebrations including:

-Select bridges and locations throughout Downtown Chicago, Friday, March 13

-Chicago St. Patrick's Day Parade, Saturday, March 14

-South Side Irish Parade, Sunday, March 15

-Northwest Side Irish Parade, Sunday, March 15

Mercy Home is calling on all interested volunteers to help make this effort a success.

Anyone can help provide a safe and supportive home for children in need just by signing up to be a March for Kids volunteer. Individual volunteers or groups can join a March for Kids street team. It's a fun and unique way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, complete a school or family service project, or organize an office team-building initiative. To volunteer, go to www.marchforkids.org, or call (312) 738-9584.

The March doesn't end on the streets, nor on St. Patrick's Day. Thanks to virtual volunteering, anyone anywhere can help give abused children healing and hope by creating their own March for Kids fundraiser online and collect donations to the Home throughout the month. Getting started is easy-those interested in becoming virtual volunteers can visit www.marchforkids.org and Mercy Home will guide them through every step.

There are also other creative ways that volunteers can get together to make a difference for kids, such as:

-Collecting donations in their offices, neighborhoods, schools or churches

-Asking employers to match donations

-Organizing a dress-down day in their workplaces to raise funds

-Collecting donations at their annual St. Patrick's Day gatherings

-Recruiting others to volunteer

Those wanting to get involved can go to the campaign web site, www.marchforkids.org, to learn everything they need to know to join the march, and keep up to date on news from the campaign. Public service announcements and more information will also appear on ABC7 Chicago.

About Mercy Home for Boys & Girls

Mercy Home for Boys & Girls www.mercyhome.org has been a solution for kids in crisis since 1887. Through its residential, aftercare, and mentoring programs, Mercy Home offers a safe home, emotional healing, education, and life-changing opportunities for more than 600 young people every year. It gives children who have suffered abuse, neglect, poverty and even abandonment the therapeutic, academic and vocational support they need to heal from the traumas of their pasts and build success for their futures. Mercy Home is 99.8% privately funded and operates at three locations in Chicago - a home for boys in the West Loop neighborhood, a home for girls in Beverly, and a home for AfterCare residents in South Shore.