McALLEN — Kids jumped for joy with smiles stretched across their rosy cheeks as they saw Jolly Old St. Nick himself arrive.
“Santa!” shouted the kids.
“You arrested Santa Claus?” another child exclaimed after Santa exited a patrol unit to cheers.
They all waved at him with smiles on their faces here at Target in McAllen, where the McAllen Police Department in partnership with Target held their annual Heroes for Helpers event Friday.
The event is made possible thanks to a grant that goes by the same name as the event, providing a $50 gift card to Target for 50 elementary school students.
Here at the Target located at 708 E. Expressway 83 in McAllen, 10 students from five McAllen elementary schools were given the opportunity to go on a shopping spree — the only one occurring in this region.
According to Sgt. Gaston Balli, spokesperson for the McAllen Police Department, the partnership is meant to give kids the opportunity to buy items on their Christmas list.
He explained that many of the students who participate take advantage of the opportunity and often use the money to buy gifts for their families.
“Some of the children … don’t go for the toys, they go for shoes, they go for clothing, they’ll get something for the brother or sister or their mom or dad and those are the ones that you know are really cherishing this moment,” Balli said, adding that the event is emotional every year.
Connie Caballero, the social services case manager for McAllen ISD, said the students selected for the grant were identified as economically disadvantaged “or at risk in some way.”
She explained that when the students heard the news of the grant they were excited to participate. In fact, a teacher at Christa McAuliffe Elementary School said she saw many of their students with Christmas lists as they waited to get on the bus.
Students stood with smiles on their faces sharing ideas of what they wanted to get.
“How much does a (Nintendo) Switch cost?” asked one of the students.
Some students jumped in anticipation of entering the store.
Among the 50 students was 9-year-old Romina Zaragoza, who planned to use some of the money to buy her mom a gift. She particularly wanted to get her a Mini Fashion brand item. “She really likes mini figures so I wanted to buy her a tiny store,” Romina said, adding that she also hopes to find items from her favorite anime series “Demon Slayer.”
She walked around the store with determination going aisle to aisle in hopes of finding the gift for her mom.
Ten-year-old Daymian Ybarra also wanted to buy a gift for his family members. In fact, among the items in his cart were two Nerf guns — one for him and one for his younger brother.
As each of the students wander around the store, Santa accompanied them in their holiday shopping spree.
“What! Santa’s not buying anything,” said a little girl with eyes filled with wonder and curiosity.
“No because Santa likes to make his own toys,” her teacher responded with a laugh.
Witnessing the joy on kids’ faces, Caballero highlighted how the opportunity to brighten the spirits of children who participated made every effort put forth in events like this worth it.
“It’s all about making our children’s lives better, making them have a happier holiday. So I’m sure once we get into that store these kids are going to have a blast, especially knowing that they can select anything that they want,” Caballero said. “That kind of opportunity just brings so many smiles and happiness to our children.”
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