'Keeps You Going': Boys & Girls Club Member On Gifts At Christmas
By Libby Smith
DENVER (CBS4) - CBS4 is collecting new, unwrapped toys for the Care 4 Colorado campaign. You don't have to spend a lot of time or money on a donation, you can even pick up a toy at the grocery store.
Recently, CBS4's Karen Leigh went toy shopping at King Soopers with some members of the Boys & Girls Club. Her helpers were Nasir, 10, Alesha, 8, and Deja, 16.
"Our goal, Nasir, is to look for things that the kids at the Boys & Girls Club would like," Leigh told the club members.
LINK: Care 4 Colorado
The three go off in all different directions, checking out movies and stuffed animals as big as they are. They start picking presents and putting them in the cart.
"And you like this sweater?" Leigh asked Nasir.
"I like this sweater because people who have nothing to wear for Christmas and it might be cold," he responded.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver serve more than 2,000 students every day after school. Most of them live at or below the poverty line. For many of them the club is a second home.
"It's like one big family. And no matter what these kids will pick each other up on some of their toughest days, and just care for each other like no other. It's so cool to see," Deja told CBS4.
The club members chose toy cars, games, Barbies, and even a drone for their donation to the Toy Drive.
"So what did you find over here?" Leigh asked Deja.
"So, you know teens, you know all my friends like to take selfies, so a selfie-stick," Deja responded.
All the club members agree that a gift at Christmas time goes a long way with their friends.
"It means more than anybody thinks. It's just that feeling that people care, even if they're strangers or people you don't know, that little bit of hope keeps you going," Deja explained.
LINK: Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver
The club members wrap up their shopping spree with a couple of gift cars for the teens. It's important to them that everyone get something this Christmas.
"What if they go to school and everybody is talking about how they got something and they didn't?" Nasir asks rhetorically.
After going through the checkout line, Leigh and the club members deposit their donations in the Care 4 Colorado bins near the front door of the store.
You can make a child smile this Christmas season by dropping off a new, unwrapped toy in the bins at participating King Soopers stores, at the iHeart Radio studios at 4695 South Monaco Street, and the CBS4 studio at 1044 Lincoln Street. The Care 4 Colorado campaign runs through Dec. 24.
Libby Smith is a Special Projects Producer at CBS4. If you have a story you'd like to tell CBS4 about, call 303-863-TIPS (8477) or visit the News Tips section.
