Local boy donates bike money to help other kids

HARLINGEN — Many kids would love a new bike for Christmas.

But young William Carlson is just fine going without one for awhile.

The second of four boys, William is an average 7-year-old boy who enjoys science and the outdoors.

With the help of his parents, William decided to sell his bike he had outgrown.

The money from the sale was supposed to go toward the purchase of a new bike.

Instead, he chose to donate the money to help other children.

William and his family are neighbors and friends with Janet Magee, founder of Blue Sunday, an organization that provides resources for children receiving help from Child Protective Services.

When William’s mother, Brianna, saw that Magee posted on Facebook that more than 400 children in the Valley would not be having a Christmas, she decided to sit her children down and start a dialogue.

“I went and asked my kids if they’d help choose the toys, and asked them to please think about if they had any money to give to the effort,” Carlson said.

Carlson expected her young children to donate a dollar or a couple of cents.

But when William left to go to his room, he came back with much more than expected.

“He said to me, ‘Mama, I don’t need a new bike after all, I can use the money from selling my bike for the kids,’” Carlson said.

The combination of the bike sale, leftover birthday money and whatever was in his piggy bank came out to $56, which was enough for the family to strategically purchase 30 small gifts to donate to Blue Sunday.

“I wanted them to get toys this year,” William said.

According to Magee, the family has always helped in donating items to the organization.

“We spend a lot of our time trying to support the community efforts,” Carlson said.

From old clothes the children have outgrown to other useful items that are needed, the Carlson’s are a family of givers.

Magee said the charitable efforts of William’s parents have trickled down to the children, including William.

“It’s contagious,” Magee said. “It’ll be fun to watch them grow up.”

Magee said Blue Sunday rarely hosts toy drives but the donations from the community led to her changing her mind.

After Carlson saw Magee’s Facebook post, she decided her family was going to help.

“If Janet does a toy drive, and she never does a toy drive, then it has to be important,” Carlson said.

Blue Sunday has received more than 1,300 gifts to give to children receiving services from CPS across four counties.

“We’re thrilled but we have lots more work to do and their needs go beyond Christmas,” Magee said.