‘It’s very heartwarming’
Lights and Ladders Brigade brings Santa Claus, holiday decorations to south and southwest suburban families affected by cancer
The Finley Forever Foundation held its 3rd annual Lights and Ladders Brigade earlier this month, with firefighters and volunteers helping set up holiday decorations at the homes of families affected by cancer, said Lacey Bracken, Finley’s mom and president of the foundation.
Bracken said her daughter, Finley Bracken, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma at age 2 in October 2019. Finley died Sept. 11, 2020, just a few weeks before her third birthday, Bracken said.
For the 2019 Christmas season, which ended up being Finley’s last Christmas, Bracken said her family members came over to decorate their house for Finley as she battled cancer.
She established the Finley Forever Foundation, a nonprofit that offers hope, support and financial assistance to Chicago area families affected by cancer, in 2021, and the idea for the Lights and Ladders Brigade came from her family.
“It was so special to us that they made us do that and she was able to experience that, so it’s kind of like a whole ball of emotions when you see it unfold for someone else,” Bracken said. “I think it’s great, and then you have those sad feelings too, where it’s like this might be their last Christmas but
you’re happy that you’re making such a huge memory for them to remember.”
The foundation held several Lights and Ladders Brigade events this year. On Dec. 2, it was in Chicago and surrounding areas, including Oak Lawn; Dec. 9, in Lemont, Mokena, Frankfort, New
Lenox and Manhattan; Nov. 29 in Romeoville; and Dec. 3 in Joliet, she said.
When selecting which homes to decorate, Bracken said the foundation considers families it has helped and partners with