Every child, selected by Child Protective Services, arrived at Toys R’ Us at 8:30 on Tuesday morning with a bright smile – they were the lucky few selected to participate in the annual Toys R’ Us shopping spree hosted by Texans’ wide-receiver Andre Johnson.
Twelve at-risk children get to run through Toys R’Us and fill their blue shopping carts with everything from Barbie dream houses to digital camera to their heart’s content – for 80 seconds, the number on his Texans jersey.
Although eighty seconds may not sound like a lot of time, eager children can grab a lot of toys – the tab this year was $19,521!
Since the video games are locked behind glass, after the shopping spree the children are allowed to select two games each.
“I think it’s awesome; I really appreciate this,” said Barbara Stubbs,’ aunt to Heather Logan, one of the kids selected. “It’s by the grace of God they called us, and I’ll tell everyone I know we had a shopping spree with Andre Johnson. Heather is so, so happy.”
While the Andre Johnson Charitable Foundation sponsors a number of community events in Houston and in Miami (Johnson’s hometown), this event is one of Johnson’s favorites because “you get to see the kids really enjoy it. That’s what this season is about.”
This is what a $19,521 tab at Toys R'Us looks like!
This is the eighth year Johnson has done this, but this year’s drive is particularly heartwarming in a bleak news cycle
“All the kids that have been here every year have gotten gifts for their brothers and sisters” or other family or friends, said Johnson. “It just shows… that they think about others. It shows what type of kids they are.”
“You just help them in a way that they thought they'd never be helped,” he said to KTVU. “It's an opportunity for their kids to get whatever they want, and they don't have to worry about it. I'm glad to take that burden off of them.”
“A lot of these kids get discouraged because of where they grew up,” Johnson said. “I grew up in a single-parent home and I was fortunate to achieve my goals.”
In a dark and depressing news cycle, it's great to see heroes like this bringing smiles to children's faces.
“I always said if I ever made it, if I was blessed to make a lot of money, I always wanted to give back and do things for kids and just help people out,” said Johnson to KTVU. “That’s why I do it.”