Kanye West has made Christmas a little cheerier for thousands of families in Chicago after donating more than 4,000 toys to a local toy drive. The gifts were given to children at the Toys for Englewood event held at Kennedy King Gymnasium on Sunday.
Stephanie Coleman, Alderman of Chicago’s 16th Ward, spoke to the press about Kanye West and his impact on the community.
“I’m so proud that Kanye is, once again, responding to our request to help the children of Englewood and beyond,” she told ABC 7 Chicago. “He is no stranger to our community. His presence has always been felt in our neighborhoods and he loves visiting, but this Christmas he has truly been our modern-day Santa Claus.”
Coleman called Kanye West “our hometown hero” and thanked him “for understanding that children in Englewood, and on the South Side and in Chicago in general, some will be without this holiday,” Coleman said to WGN-TV. “Some are without their fathers due to gun violence, due to mass incarceration, so today, we are here being a blessing.”
Last week, Kanye West revealed that he plans to convert all his residences into churches.
“I’m going to be homeless in a year,” he said during an interview with O32c magazine. “I’m going to turn all the homes I own into churches. We’re making this orphanage, and it will be a place where anyone can go.”
Kanye added, “It should be like an artist commune. Food should always be available.”
Ye feels it’s time for society to evolve. “We are under capitalist rule, and it’s killing us,” he said. “It’s time to change that.”