Group to raise money while riding carousel

The Festival of Children Foundation is taking its carousel-driven fundraising techniques to the Chicago area this weekend.

The Costa Mesa-based nonprofit is calling the event “The Carousel of Possible Dreams.” Participants will ride a European salon carousel, cell phones in hand, to “dial for donations” at the Saturday event.

Their efforts will benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital of Memphis, Tenn., and the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana.

The carousel is the Eden Palais, an 1890 model housed at the private Sanfilippo estate in Barrington Hills, Ill., according to the Sanfilippo Foundation’s website.

“Whenever Festival of Children Foundation can go into a community and collaborate with a group like the Sanfilippo Foundation, it’s a very rewarding experience,” said Sandy Segerstrom Daniels, founder and executive director of Festival of Children Foundation, in a prepared statement. “We’re able to bring this very unique fundraising opportunity to the charities and help them generate awareness and donations to a whole new audience. Peer-to-peer fundraising is a very powerful tool.”

The foundation has done the carousel-style fundraisers since 2009.

—Bradley Zint

Twitter: @bradleyzint