Auburn Gresham/Englewood Foster Families Received Shoes
By Tia Carol Jones
Children cheered as Chicago Bears Defensive Linemen Akiem Hicks approached the building at SOS Children’s Villages Illinois in the Auburn Gresham/Englewood neighborhood recently. Inside a room, children and families had homemade signs to welcome him. Hicks, along with the United Healthcare provided new shoes to 170 children.
SOS Children’s Villages Illinois was founded more than 30 years ago. They provides resources for children in foster care by enabling children to live with their siblings and receive care and support from a licensed and trained Foster Parent.
“Akiem has been transformational for our organization. He’s given holiday gifts, he’s given bookbags, he’s given money for education at one of the toughest times in the pandemic, when we’re educating our children here,” said the SOS Children’s Villages Illinois CEO Tim McCormick.
Hicks has been coming to SOS Children’s Villages Illinois since 2017. He continues to visit the location because of the feeling of community and how the people stand together to make a difference in the lives of the young people who live there.
“It’s always been really rewarding for me to be a part of it, you know a fly on the wall and watch people being helped. I really enjoy coming here and I look to being a part of this organization for a long time,” Hicks said.
Hicks was introduced to SOS Children’s Villages by one of his former teammates who grew up at a location. Hicks described the foster parents as giving and selfless to put other’s before themselves. He expressed his admiration for them.
“The first time I came here, we had a party outside, we were playing and just hanging out and throwing the football around. The sense of community I spoke about earlier, is just so valuable,” he said. “It left an impression on me the first time I came.”
Giving back is something that was instilled in Hicks, with his mom, giving back with the church, as a kid. He’s also been on the receiving end with people who gave to him as a young man.
“It fills you with a certain amount of joy. Throughout the holiday season its moments like that which makes somebody else smile. It refreshes me, it gives me a renewed energy to step back on the field and hit somebody,” Hicks said with a smile and a laugh.
Delphine Rankin is chief operating officer at the SOS Children’s Villages Illinois. She described the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic as a dark time for the families, who were accustomed to seeing staff on a daily basis, the schoolteachers, case managers and the therapist. SOS Children’s Villages Illinois did everything they could to ensure the families were well provided for. Rankin was grateful that Hicks came out even then to support the organization.
“It’s people like Akiem who continue to come out and support our mission. Our families go through so much in a day’s time. So, for a brief moment to have him come out and support the kids and help them see there are other people in the village besides the people they see everyday,” she said. “It’s people like Akiem that keep this organization in the forefront of Foster Care.”
Now, the families can see each other in person, interact and participate in programs. Rankin wants people not to forget children in foster care, just because they might not wear labels that indicate they are foster children when they walk on the street.
“There are organizations across Illinois, but particularly SOS Children’s Villages, we need your help. We need foster parents. Our foster parents are amazing, their sacrifice of 24 hours a day and what they do, we need more individuals like them,” Rankin said.
For more information about SOS Children’s Villages Illinois, visit www.sosillinois.org.
