PHOENIX (AZFamily) — The Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury Foundation worked with Target to surprise a group of Valley kids Friday evening.
About 20 kids from the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams at Academia del Pueblo Elementary School in south Phoenix thought they were having a normal team bonding event. But when they showed up at the Target Store near 16th Avenue and Bethany Home Road, the Suns and two of the players surprised them.
“I thought we were just going to go to an arcade or something,” one student said. “When I saw the players I was shocked because I’ve never seen famous people in my life.”
Suns rookie forwards Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro walked around the store to help the young kids pack their carts with things they wanted for Christmas. The foundation paid for it all.
“There are things that happen in a young persons life that they’ll remember for the rest of their life and this is one of those things,” Principal Frank Lomeli said. “This is what it’s all about.”
Dunn and Ighodaro brought kids through the electronics area, helping them find video games, controllers or headphones. Ighodaro is from the Valley and played high school ball at Desert Vista in Phoenix.
“It’s great to give back. Me and Ryan are out here spending time with the community,” Ighodaro said. ”I’m super proud to be from here, and as I grow in the NBA, I want to give back to the community. It’s something I feel strongly about.”
Some kids were initially shy as they were shocked to see two Suns players right in front of them. But as they went up and down the aisles, the students started picking items for themselves and their loved ones.
Andy Munoz is a youngster who said December is his favorite month.
“I know stuff has been hard this year, so I decided to get a bunch of stuff to help me and my family and other people too,” he said. “I got a vacuum for my mom, teddy bears for my sister, a few gifts cards and one card to give to the homeless. Christmas means giving back having fun with my family [and] my friends.”
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