Tuesday, December 15 “Give Christmas Away”
Give Christmas Away
We are son inspired by Matthew Wests new song and book “Give Christmas Away”. We love the idea of giving what you can to someone else instead of focusing so much on a wish list for yourself. Here is a great example of NBA Player Caron Butler of The Washington Wizards giving Christmas Away:
By Paul Duffy. National Sports Examiner.
Caron Butler of the Washington Wizards might have corporate sponsors but understands when you’re giving gifts you should do what the rest of us do, pay for them yourself.
Prior to the Wizards home game against the Boston Celtics, Butler engaged in the fifth year of what he calls “Caron Butler’s Annual Bike Brigade”. He gifted bikes to 100 kids of military families in and around the nation’s capital. Some of them are without a parent this holiday season. Video is posted, here
Each of the NBA’s 30 teams have created their own holiday charitable events in their respective communities. The Wizards call theirs “Twelve Days of Holiday Cheer”. The team hosted the kids and guests for the game against the Celts and Butler surprised them prior to the contest with their presents.
Butler told media at the event, “Four or five years ago I started this up in Racine, WI, when my cousin had his bike stolen, along with a lot of people in my hometown. I’ve been doing it ever since, and then brought it to help kids in the DC community. I hope it’s a holiday gift they enjoy.”
The Wizards All-Star forward hails from Racine and knows what it’s like not to have much at any time of the year but especially at the holidays. He was a troubled youth who was arrested 15 times by his mid-teens. He has said that after seeing the look in his mother’s eyes he made the fifteenth time his last. He turned his life around and became a college standout at Connecticut. As a result of his college play, he was taken in the first round of the NBA draft by the Miami Heat.
Once he was traded to the Wizards after a couple of years playing in Los Angeles for the Lakers, he began his bike give-a-way. To date, Butler has given 2,500 bikes to kids in his hometown and the Washington, DC area.
Take a moment to watch the video of Butler with the kids as he gives them the bikes. Each one is sized just right for the recipient and the children all look the same as they receive them. Wonder and delight fill their faces. A nice moment for a guy who has everything he ever wanted and more.
