At their core, the Lady Bears are simply a group of female fans that are passionate about football and the Bears — which, for most, are their hometown team. But as time went on, the ladies furthered their connection to involve positively impacting the Chicago community.
"We are also very community oriented," Sims said. "We don't just watch football and have fun. We do other things in our community, much like the Bears.
"We enjoy giving back to the community. We're very youth-oriented in many of our ventures that we deal with, our giveaways or fundraisers, cancer walks, just things that we're passionate about in terms of community and give back."
Participating in community service now holds the same significance in being in the group as possessing a deep love for the Bears does — both traits that the Lady Bears are now passing onto their own children and grandchildren.
For Sims' daughter Sierra, a 5th- and 6th\-grade teacher at KIPP Bloom College Prep on the city's South Side, joining the Lady Bears initially proved to be a taller task than she expected.
"It's funny because when myself and my Auntie Donna's daughter, Melissa, found out that these Lady Bears were doing all this fun stuff, we were like, 'wait a second, we gotta get in on this,'" Sierra said. "And then we were told we needed to be 40 and up. So, it was not even an option. And then they were like, 'well, actually, we need some legacies to continue this, so we'll give you guys this pass to come in before 40.'"
Now, the group has six Legacy Bears, who are able to participate in the fun, with the stipulation that they intend to carry the tradition on through their adulthoods.
"I am just thrilled that we truly have kids who have embraced the game of football like we do, and that they're willing to move this forward as we age," Sims said. "I just think that's such a great thing. And it's just such a close knit group that it almost should have happened before now, because they are a big part of it. They embrace how we do things. They understand how we do things. They love the game even more now. So everybody has gotten something from doing what we've done."
What started out as three women watching Bears games at sports bars has now turned into an intergenerational community of women who unite every Sunday to celebrate their shared love for the Bears.
Members of the Bears staff were able to see that camaraderie firsthand last fall when Sierra was selected as a winner of the club's Classroom Legends award, a program powered by CDW that honors educators who go above and beyond to support their students and build inclusive inspiring school communities across Chicagoland.