Community Says ‘Thank You’ To First Responders With Free Family Fun Day

The Pullman Community Center recently hosted First Responders Fun Day as a way to thank the police officers, firefighters, and other first responders from the community for their services. Photo Credit: Office of Alderman Anthony Beale
The Pullman Community Center recently hosted First Responders Fun Day as a way to thank the police officers, firefighters, and other first responders from the community for their services. Photo Credit: Office of Alderman Anthony Beale

Community Says ‘Thank You’ To First Responders With Free Family Fun Day

BY KATHERINE NEWMAN

Over the last year, the Chicago Police Department has seen a tragic amount of officers die in the line of duty and that reality bears even more significance in CPD’s 5th District which covers several South Side neighborhoods like Pullman and Roseland.

This past December, the 5th District lost two young officers, Conrad Gary and Eduardo Marmolejo, when they were fatally hit by an outbound train while doing surveillance. Prior to these two officers deaths, three other police officers serving in the 5th District lost their lives over the course of a year.

As a way to show support for the officers serving the community, Ninth Ward Alderman Anthony Beale and Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives, an economic development organization, came together to host the inaugural First Responders Fun Day at the Pullman Community Center located on 10355 South Woodlawn Avenue.

“It all started off with the 5th District. We saw the fact that we have had five deaths out of that district alone in the past 12 months and something has to be done to let the officers know that we support them, we are behind them, and we appreciate them,” said Beale.

The police officers, firefighters, and other first responders who serve in and around the Pullman community, along with their families, were invited to come to the newly constructed Pullman Community Center for an evening of stress-free fun.

Teams were able to compete in basketball, soccer, and flag football tournaments and there were inflatable slides and bounce houses for young kids to play on. The event also provided free food and Alderman Beal said that this type of event is exactly what the Pullman Community Center was made for.

“The community center is for everybody. Once we built that place, I knew that if we were able to just think outside the box, there would be so many different things we could do in that facility. There is nothing that we cannot do if we think about how we can implement it,” said Beale.

With so much tragedy in the Chicago Police Department’s 5th District, the first responders that attended the event at the Pullman Community Center were happy to have an opportunity to get together without simultaneously laying one of their own to rest.

“One thing that really stuck with me more than anything was that most of the officers that said thank you all said that they only get together when there is a tragedy and that resonated so much with me,” said Beale. “I know the officers and the firefighters are going through a lot with the deaths and everything that is going on and I thought this was a great opportunity to say how much we appreciate them, thank them for their service, and let them know we are behind them 100 percent.”

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