Holiday with a Hero returns; provides shopping spree for underprivileged Carson City children
Holiday with a Hero continued its annual mission of serving underprivileged youth identified in Carson City through the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, who may not otherwise get to have a festive holiday season.
This year approximately 250 children participated in Wednesday's event at Walmart, where each received $100 gift cards to shop for their family and themselves. The money was generated through fundraisers throughout the year in the community.
“This is important to the community because It allows us to give back to the community,” said Carson City Sheriff's Office Capt. Daniel Gonzales. “These kids, they tend to see us on their bad days; not by their choosing, but by circumstance. (Holiday with a Hero) gives us more positive interaction under our control.”
Local heroes from both Carson agencies as well as surrounding agencies, including the FBI, East Fork Fire, Nevada State Parks and more, are paired with children for a shopping spree, during which children can pick out toys, clothes and else whatever their hearts desire for to make this season special.
Holiday with a Hero began in 2004 by Capt. Daniel Gonzales and his wife, Meliah Gonzales, a Carson City District Court Bailiff.
Funds come from monetary donations, sponsorships from local businesses, and money collected from the Holiday with a Hero Crawl.
“We get to put our uniforms on and do the shopping, but we wouldn’t be able to do this without the generous donations from the community,” said Capt. Gonzales.
One thing consistently heard by the heroes following the shopping spree was that all of the children were incredibly humble, and wanted to purchase gifts for their family and friends rather than themselves.
To learn more about Holiday with a Hero, watch the video below.