Ladders Out, Lights Up To Delight Frankfort Girl Fighting Cancer

FRANKFORT, IL — It wasn't Santa's elves rushing around outside, or the clopping of reindeer hooves on the roof of a Frankfort home Thursday evening. Instead, it was a swift-moving team of 100 volunteers, and the sure-footed steps of firefighters called to a scene in need of some serious holiday cheer.

The Lights and Ladders Brigade, joined by Project Fire Buddies, swooped into a Frankfort subdivision, cranked some Christmas tunes, and bedecked the home of beloved childhood cancer warrior Maggie DeVries and her family.

It was fire cadets spilling out of engines with what seemed to be a pretty seamless plan of attack—grab the Tupperwares, sort the string lights, hang the ornaments on tree branches, get the extension cords ready. It was sirens flashing, ladder up to reach the tippy-top of the giant tree in the family's front yard. There were few idle hands as they responded to this very important call.

"It means everything," said Maggie's grandfather Rick Lorenz. "... She will be totally delighted when the sun goes down tomorrow, and she sees this. She's gonna love it, I can promise you that."

Six-year-old Maggie has grabbed hold of hearts across the south suburbs. The plucky blond who loves dance, cheerleading, and gymnastics has inspired people, organizations, and businesses to step up in support. A mere 10 months have passed since her diagnosis with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, or DIPG—a rare and inoperable brain tumor. She's been showered with displays of love too extensive to list, but nonetheless deeply appreciated by her family, who recently moved to Frankfort from Tinley. All "Love for Maggie"—the title of Facebook page where her family shares updates every step of the way, and the GoFundMe started by a family friend.

Maggie has been taken under the wing of nonprofit Project Fire Buddies, a volunteer-led effort by local fire departments to show support for children battling critical illness. Started in Oak Forest in 2016, the group's momentum continues to grow, expanding now to 30 different departments including south suburban Oak Lawn, Palos, Orland Park, Tinley Park, Midlothian, Homewood, Lockport, Lemont, New Lenox, Evergreen Park, Frankfort and Country Club Hills.

They were all there—with many additional sets of hands, old and young—Thursday night. Project Fire Buddies fell in step with the Brigade, an effort under the umbrella of the Finley Forever Foundation. The Brigade is composed of three organizations—The Tom Hopkins Foundation, Christmas without Cancer, and Finley Forever—which come together to raise money and bring cheer to families battling cancer during the holiday season.

Finley Forever Founder Dan Bracken started the foundation, and later the brigade, following the Sept. 2020 death of his 2-year-old daughter Finley, less than a year after she was diagnosed with neuroblastoma. Firefighters from across three states volunteer their time to decorate the homes of multiple recipients. This is the brigade's first year expanding to the Lincoln-Way area.

"When we were going through our battle with cancer, my dad and brother came over and forcefully made us decorate the house," said Finley Forever Founder Dan Bracken. "It was in November, it's the last thing a family's worried about, is decorating the house, when you're dealing with this.

"... Money's great, emotional support's great, food trains are great—everything's great—but what can we do that takes a burden off the family? You never know when your last Christmas will be."

It started with a small group text to see who was in to help, but the fundraising behind the concept enabled the group to decorate seven homes last year, mostly in the Chicago area, Bracken said. The recipients of the decorations are gifted all items, as well, Bracken.

"I figured this was the best way to pay it forward," Bracken said.

Libby Tiffy, aunt to Maggie and sister to Maggie's mother Erin, said the family "is just overwhelmed with gratitude."

The decorating crew told Maggie's dad Pete that he should put out whatever decorations he already had, and they'd add to it. The decorations already on display included several inflatables—like a light-up unicorn.

"Maggie's dad is a huge inflatable and Christmas fanatic and loves this stuff, so he started when he was dating my sister, surprising my parents with a new one on their front lawn, so that's how they made this collection," Tiffy said, gesturing to the family's inflatables. "And so to have people match his energy and match his joy and want to share that with his family, it's indescribable."

Maggie might have a new favorite inflatable, too, Tiffy said.

"So the unicorn was her previous favorite, but this rainbow tree I believe is a gift today from one of the organizations ... and she's been eyeing that at Target," Tiffy said.

Thursday's display of care and love for her family is deeply appreciated, Tiffy said.

"We are so blessed that we have so much community support, we are such a close-knit family and have so many friends who reach out and just support everybody through it," she said. "All of their good thoughts, and their love, we can feel everybody everyday just surrounding us with love."

Thursday's decorating crew came from departments including Palos Heights, Bolingbrook, Country Club Hills, Frankfort, New Lenox, Romeoville, Flossmoor, and Chicago.

"I don't want to decorate my own house, but I will gladly decorate someone else's, and it's just to put a smile on their faces," Bracken said.

But the families aren't the only ones who benefit, said Project Fire Buddies Founder Kurt DeGroot.

"It's a great reward for the families to see the community behind them, the fire and police departments behind them, but it's also rewarding for the crew," DeGroot said. "Firefighters in general, we get burnt out, and this refills our cup."