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Disadvantaged Kids Meet Bulls Legends At MSI

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Bulls celebrity spent the day signing autographs for hundreds of children in an early Christmas event the Museum of Science and Industry on Sunday.

As WBBM Newsradio's Michele Fiore reports, former Bulls center Bill Wennington, who is remembered as a member of the NBA Championship-winning teams from 1996 through 1998, came to the MSI to meet more than 300 children ages 6 to 12 who live in Chicago Housing Authority public housing.

LISTEN: WBBM Newsradio's Michele Fiore reports

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He posed for pictures as students compared his height to the Christmas tree behind him.

"I thought it was incredible, because he was 7 feet," one youngster said.

"I thought basketball players were like the size of a tree," another said.

Halleemah Mash, the CHA director of youth opportunities, says events such as this mean a lot to the children.

"I think there are so many of our young people that live in low-income areas that aspire to be individuals that they see on TV, and so many of them are Bulls fans," she said.

Former Bulls forward Sidney Green, who was a member of the team from 1983 to 1986, also came to meet the youngsters.

The children were invited to the museum to have lunch, take a four, and then take home a toy of their choice.

Toys lined two tables, decorated with red and gold garland. There were barbie dolls and action figures, as well as games and every child got to select one toy to take home.

The event was sponsored by the Bulls and the Black McDonald's Operators' Association.

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