By Larry Mayer

The Bears rookie class made a grand entrance at the

“Making Wishes Come True” holiday giving party

at Soldier Field on Tuesday, December 15, riding

down an escalator en masse into the United Club.

As they waved to the crowd, it was hard to tell who

was more excited to be there, the young football

players—who wore their Bears jerseys and Santa

Claus hats—or the scores of children on hand to

greet them.

“It means a lot,” receiver Johnny Knox said of the

warm response the players received. “I’m pretty

sure if any of us were having a bad morning, this is

lifting us up, just being here and seeing the smiles on

their faces.”

More than 500 people attended the second annual holiday party, which was co-hosted by the Bears, Bears

Care and United Airlines. Knox was joined by fellow rookies Al Afalava, Johan Asiata, Kahlil Bell, Kevin

Brock, Jarron Gilbert, Juaquin Iglesias, Lance Louis, Kevin Malast, Henry Melton, D.J. Moore, Will

Ta’ufo’ou and Woodny Turenne. Bears staff members, coaches and players, along with United Airlines

employees, had the opportunity to “adopt” a child or family and grant their holiday wishes by purchasing gifts

on their wish lists. The non-profit organizations that benefitted from the holiday giving initiative included

Chicago House, Humboldt Park Social Services, James Jordan Foundation, Mercy Housing, Interfaith Council

for the Homeless, Chicago Park District Youth Football and Southwest Organizing Project.

“All of us rookies hope this brightens their Christmas,” Knox said of the kids. “This is fun for us, and we’re

going to make this as fun as we can for them.”

The Bears players assisted with various activities at the event, including bingo, musical chairs, baggo games, a

youth football obstacle course, football toss and crafts. Melton and Asiata sang Karaoke songs with fans,

Afalava played musical chairs, and Knox raced Iglesias to a draw in the

obstacle course.

“I just love being around kids,” Afalava said. “It’s just amazing when we

came how kids know your name. It’s an honor and a privilege to be here.

Hopefully we can have some fun and hopefully they’ll remember this.”

Yolanda Brown of Chicago attended the event with her three children—

Jalonda, 7, James, 5 and Jasmine, 1. “This is really nice,” she said. “It

means a lot. We always watch the Bears play on TV, and I’m telling the

kids that this is where they play, and they’re really excited. This is a bless-

ing. I don’t know how to stop saying thank you.”

KyToya Fultz was on hand with her cousins, Kalber, 6 and Kevin, 3.“Their

faces are lighting up,” she said. “They want more pictures with Santa, and

they want to know what they’re getting for Christmas. They don’t want to

sit down. They want to do more things. There are so many opportunities

here for kids.”

Making Holiday Wishes Come True

I N T H I S I S S U E

American Brain Tumor Association’s

Annual Holiday Party

Make-A-Wish Visits at Halas Hall

Boeing Military Salute

Home Team Hand-Off

Chicago Bears “High School Coach of

the Week”

U.S. Army All-Americans

Staples “Dream Park Challenge with

the Bears”

The Bears 2009 Rookie Class

Kahlil Bell posed for a photo with some new

friends from the Chicago Park District.

Very Generous Bears

Adams Delivers Holiday Cheer Defensive tackle Anthony Adams dressed up as Santa Claus and delivered toys to children at the American

Brain Tumor Association’s annual holiday party on Tuesday, December 8 at Grazie Ristorante & Banquets

in Des Plaines. Over 40 families from the greater Chicago metropolitan area attended the party. This was

the second consecutive year that Anthony has participated in the party, and the 10th year in a row that the

Chicago Bears have supported this event by arranging for a player to don the Santa suit.

To learn more about the American Brain Tumor Association and their programs, please visit

www.abta.org.

The Chicago Bears thank head coach Lovie Smith and seven generous Bears players for participating

in the Bears “Home Team Hand-Off” ticket donation program during the 2009 season. Through this

program players and coaches have the opportunity to purchase a block of season tickets and donate

them to the charity of their choice. The charity then distributes the tickets to deserving children, giv-

ing them the chance to experience a game at Soldier Field. One child from each organization also had

the opportunity to serve as an honorary captain and participate in the coin toss at mid-field with the

Bears team captains. The following Bears participated in the “Home Team Hand-Off” program in

2009: Roberto Garza presented “Roberto’s Amigos” in support of Los Amigos de Roberto; Tom-

mie Harris presented “Harris’ Heroes” in support of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lake County and the

Tommie Harris Foundation; Israel Idonije presented “IZZYz KIDz” in support of the Israel Idonije

Foundation; Jason McKie presented “McKie’s Troops” in support of the Jason McKie Foundation;

Adewale Ogunleye presented “Wale’s Warriors” in support of By the Hand Club for Kids; Lovie Smith

presented “The Smith Crew” in support of Misericordia; Charles Tillman presented “Peanut’s Gallery” in support of Gift of Hope; and Brian Urlacher

presented “Urlacher’s Backers” in support of Allendale Association, Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago, Chicago Youth Centers, Midtown Educational Foun-

dation, Special Olympics Illinois, Teen Living Programs, and UCAN.

Anthony “Santa Bear” Adams attended the

ABTA’s annual holiday party.

Kids from the Make-A-Wish Foundation and

UCAN served as honorary captains at the

Bears vs. Vikings game.

Make-A-Wish Visits The Chicago Bears supported the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Illinois by granting the wishes of two chil-

dren at the Bears final two home games of the 2009 season. The children, along with their families, had

the opportunity to visit the Bears training facility to watch practice and meet their favorite players and

coaches. The families were given complimentary tickets to the Bears vs. Packers and Bears vs. Vikings

games and were escorted down to the field to watch pre-game warm-ups from the sidelines at Soldier

Field. Each child also served as an honorary captain at their respective game, where they participated in

the coin toss with the Bears team captains and NFL officials. To learn more about the Make-A-Wish

Foundation of Illinois, please visit www.wishes.org.

A Make-A-Wish child visited with Bears play-

ers following practice.

Boeing Military Salute For all regular season home games this season, the Chicago Bears and The Boeing Company honored the

men and women of the armed forces through an in-game videoboard and on-field recognition. This oppor-

tunity allowed the Bears, Boeing, and our great fans to give thanks and support to those who protect our

country and also honor the history and heritage of Soldier Field. Tickets for the soldier and their guests

were generously provided by fullback Jason McKie and his participation in the Bears “Home Team Hand-

Off” ticket donation program. Through the Jason McKie Foundation, Jason strives to make an impact in

the lives of families of soldiers by providing educational scholarships to children and spouses affected by a

loss or severely injured parent or spouse. Boeing is a Proud Partner of the Chicago Bears.

A soldier and his family received a standing

ovation at Soldier Field.

High School “Coach of the Week” The Chicago Bears 2009 “Coach of the Week” winners were honored during an on-field presenta-

tion when the Bears defeated the St. Louis Rams on Sunday, December 6 at Soldier Field. The

“Coach of the Week” program recognizes outstanding high school football coaches who develop

players’ football skills and knowledge, character, discipline, and teamwork abilities. The 2009

“Coach of the Week” winners include: Gabe Corey of Maine East High School, Kit Thein of

Pawnee High School, Cullen Welter of Monticello High School, Tyson LeBlanc of Curie Metro-

politan High School, Jim Farrell of Buffalo Grove High School, Nate Albaugh of Milford/Cissna

Park High School, Paul Parpet of Addison Trail High School, George Czart of Lincoln-Way

North High School and Doug Millsaps of Rolling Meadows High School. Coaches were nomi-

nated by a panel of local prep authorities, with winners being selected each week. Corey McPher-

rin announced the winner Thursday nights on FOX Chicago News at Nine. The Bears have do-

nated $1,500 to the football programs at each winning coach’s school. In addition to being guests

of the Bears at the December 6 game, each “Coach of the Week” honoree received a framed auto-

graphed certificate and attended a Bears practice and “chalk-talk” with Head Coach Lovie Smith.

The “Coach of the Week” program is brought to you by Fox Chicago and FOXJOX.com.

The Chicago Bears were honored to host four local prep football players who have been selected

to play in the 2010 U.S. Army All-American Bowl at the Bears vs. Rams game at Soldier Field

on Sunday, December 6. Chance Carter, a defensive end from Loyola Academy; C.J. Fie-

dorowicz, a tight end from Johnsburg High School; Christian Lombard, an offensive tackle from

William Fremd High School; and Kyle Prater, a wide receiver from Proviso West High School,

have been recognized by the U.S. Army All-American Bowl as four of the nation’s top 84 foot-

ball players. The Bowl showcases future college and NFL stars, such as Alumni Michael Clay-

ton, Adrian Peterson, Reggie Bush, Vince Young, and the Bears’ own Tommie Harris. The

game will be played at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX on January 9th, 2010. Visit

GoArmy.com or USArmyAllAmericanBowl.com for more information on the 2010 U.S. Army

All-American Bowl. Congratulations to our Chicago selections, and best of luck!

U.S. Army All-American Bowl

2009 Bears High School

“Coach of the Week” winners

Four prep football players from the Chicago

area were selected to play in the

2010 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

Staples “Dream Park Challenge with the Bears” Running back Matt Forte participated in a ceremony at the United Club at Soldier Field on Tues-

day, December 8 to announce Eugene Field Park in Chicago as the grand-prize winner of the Staples

“Dream Park Challenge with the Bears,” a park improvement contest involving 14 Chicagoland

parks. Forte, who served as spokesman for the program, joined Chicago Bears Senior Director of

Business Development Brian McCaskey and Staples district manager Rodney Westerhouse in

presenting a check in the amount of $25,000 to representatives and kids from Eugene Field Park.

The park plans to use the funds on a complete audio/visual system that includes a scoreboard, stereo

system and digital projector. This is the third time Staples and the Bears have teamed up for the

Dream Park Challenge, which has awarded close to $150,000 in park improvements to 43 Chicago-

land parks.

From September 15 to November 16, Chicagoland residents were invited to vote online at

www.StaplesDreamPark.com for one of the 14 local parks to receive $25,000 toward park im-

provements. Eugene Field Park finished first in the contest with 125,171 of the 373,380 total votes

cast. Second-place Nowell Park in Joliet will receive $10,000 and third-place Madison Meadow Park

in Lombard will be awarded $5,000 for park improvements. The remaining 11 parks will each receive

$500.

Matt Forte helped announce the winner of the

Staples “Dream Park Challenge.”