CLEVELAND — Families filled their carts Friday at the Walmart in Steelyard. Toys, TVs and household items were given to take home. The best part about it was that it was all for free.
James Tale was excited when he found out through his case manager that all four of his kids would be receiving a shopping spree for Christmas.
"I needed the help right now, so I’m more than grateful, God’s been looking out for me, and it’s been hard for me for a long time. And my kids probably would have gotten two or three things, I would have done the best I could, so they had something to open said,” Tale.
Now Tale’s kids will have multiple gifts to open, thanks to Cleveland Browns' General Manager Andrew Berry, his wife Brittan and the non-profit random acts of kindness.
"People go through different hardships or different difficult times that is no fault of their own. And for us to be able to spread a little bit of cheer, give a Christmas to local families, that’s important to us,” said Berry.
Truly feeling the Christmas spirit, the three families had 30 minutes to pick out whatever they liked in Walmart.
"The most exciting part was seeing the kids and their eyes light up when they go through the different aisles and get some of the different toys that they were excited to see,” said Barry.
Ricky Smith is the founder of the organization Random Acts of Kindness. He said it’s not what you give but showing them that you care.
“What’s also important is being able to take them shopping to let them pick out what they want. So, it's not just something that they're getting hand down to them, or something that maybe they thought they might have wanted, but them themselves get to pick out their gifts,” said Smith.
Giving families an experience will be cherished forever.
"I hope that these families have kind of felt an opportunity to not stress as much about the holidays and think about each other, and not have to worry about what's happening next,” said Brittan.
