Aurora - Universal Lending Corporation brought Christmas to patients and their families at The Children's Hospital this year.

Holiday Hugs, an annual charity program that reaches out to children who suffer from chronic illnesses, kicked off this year's event internally weeks ago with a fund raising drive that resulted in $10,000 in donations.

Employees of Universal Lending volunteer their time to purchase, wrap and deliver presents to children who are, for the most part, unable to leave the hospital due to their care needs.

"When we saw the opportunity to help these children and their families, and we know how important it is to help the rest of the families, we chose this part of Children's Hospital to be giving to. We know there are many needy children, but we found that being able to reach out to the families is just terrific," said Pete Lansing, president of Universal Lending.

Universal Lending has sponsored Holiday Hugs for several years.

Read the 9News Story.