Robbins residents lined the street Sunday for the first ever Christmas parade and gift giveaway, but the star of the event was a 5-year-old girl who lost both of her parents in a post-Thanksgiving car crash.

The Nov. 27 crash killed Brandi Phillips and Girvaughn Lofton, leaving Jourdynn Lofton orphaned. The child is being raised by her grandmother, Sherri Dotson. Mayor Tyrone Ward and police Chief Roy Wells both presented Lofton with a variety of wrapped gifts.

“She thanks the community and thanks God,” Dotson said.

Lofton didn’t say much during the Sunday ceremony, but she did thank the community.

The parade kicked off at the Dotson home with a news conference that included some surprise guests, including LaRoyce Hawkins, the star of the show “Chicago P.D.” and a native son of Harvey.

“We can fight against darkness,” he said. “I think it starts with a smile on Jourdynn’s face. It starts right here, and I’m so grateful and it’s so powerful.”

Hawkins said communities can come together, like Robbins, to relieve some of the stress.

“My heart is right here,” Hawkins said, “in the hood. With each and every one of these families.”

The parade is the first of the sort for Robbins and the mayor said it’s an effort to lift community spirits after a long year marked by isolation and COVID-19.

“This is what it’s about,” Ward said.

Besides toys, village officials also organized a food and clothing drive for residents. Ward said the need is there for Robbins residents and the event would help many people in the community.

Wells, who helped organize the event, said hundreds of people were expected to line the city streets to receive candy and gifts. He said most of the parents and the children arrived by word-of-mouth, as did the presents.

“This is a very merry, happy occasion,” said Wells.

He said this year’s parade is the first, but not the last, Christmas parade intended to showcase how the community can come together.

Ward said Sunday’s parade was intended to spotlight Lofton but also the whole community.

The crash occurred at 12:55 a.m. Nov. 27 when their car struck a fixed object the 600 block of Ridge Road in Homewood, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. They were returning home from a Thanksgiving gathering with family, according to a Go Fund Me page set up for the family.

Only weeks after the fatal car crash, Dotson said her goal has been to keep Lofton’s mind off the incident as best as she can.

“She’s been so busy,” her grandmother said. “At one point when it was quiet at the house, she wanted her mom and I had to tell her her mom is in heaven. So just keeping her preoccupied is really helping her.”

Lofton said the small child that was once her parents’ priority is hers.

“She was their only daughter,” Dotson said. “She’s my life, she’s my everything.”

Dotson said she appreciated the parade, and repeated the adage that it takes a village to raise a child, especially after the parents’ death.

Hawkins echoed these comments, saying when the community comes together, he believes it can change itself for the better.

“When we look up, Jourdynn will be 18 years old,” Hawkins said. “She’s going to see a new village. We’ve been attacked by a darkness for far too long. But we’re going to change that story.”

Dotson said she believes that is already happening with the outpouring of support.

“She was on the right path, but it was cut short,” Dotson said of the girl’s mother. “I just want to thank everyone. God’s got me and he’s got us.”

She said the support, even before the gift giveaway, has helped her.

“All of the love,” she said, “It’s helped me keep my sanity.”

Dotson said she’s lived in Robbins her entire life but she’s still surprised and thankful about how her town turned out.

“I am overwhelmed,” she said.

Jesse Wright is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown