Motion for Kids annual holiday party to be held Saturday

Celebration provides fun, food and desired gifts for children in foster care, impacted by the justice system

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Kick off the holiday season with Motion for Kids (MFK), an annual holiday party for approximately 2,500 metropolitan St. Louis area children who are in the foster care system, or children whose lives have been severely impacted by the criminal justice system.

The Saint Louis Bar Foundation is proud to partner with The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis (BAMSL), the St. Louis Cardinals, the St. Louis Blues, St. Louis University, the Isaac Bruce Foundation and Delaware North Companies to present this yearly event that provides cheer to area children who otherwise would not experience the joy of the holiday season.

MFK partners with local support organizations to identify the children invited to attend the holiday party with their parents or guardians. Those children are matched up with sponsors from the St. Louis legal community (lawyers, judges, paralegals, office administrators, law students, legal secretaries, and their families). Each sponsor is asked to purchase and wrap two gifts chosen specifically from each child’s wish list.

“This party is unique because the gifts are specific to what the children want, selected from their own wish lists,” said Zoe Linza, BAMSL’s executive director. “Instead of receiving a random gift, this initiative ensures the children receive gifts they really want.”

The party features appearances from Fredbird, Louie and the Blue Crew with the inflatable slapshot game and the SLU Billiken mascot along with SLU athletes, cheerleaders and dancers. There also will be entertainment provided throughout the afternoon including Christian the Magician, Beyond All Reason, Harris-Stowe Honeycomb Dancers/Drumline and Gentlemen of Vision.

Activities include photos and autographs with sports figures and cheerleaders; arts and crafts stations; face painting; games; storytelling; photos with Santa Claus; lunch for the children; and more. BAMSL’s Women in the Legal Profession (WILP) Section has collected children’s books for the Book Corner, where they will be allowed to pick a book or two to take home.

BAMSL members Christina Lewis Abate, director of underwriting for The Bar Plan, and Cardina Johnson, associate general counsel of the Illinois Education Association, are co-chairs of this year’s Motion for Kids holiday party with significant help from an active committee, BAMSL staff, and more than 300 volunteers.

With more than 6,500 members in the St. Louis region, including attorneys, judges, paralegals and law firm administrators, The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis (BAMSL) is the oldest and most respected voluntary bar association in the area. BAMSL exists to benefit its members as well as to serve the legal profession and the public at large.

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