'Christmas for Kids' celebration set for Saturday, gives $150 cash to foster kids to shop at Target
A holiday tradition called “Christmas for Kids” returns this weekend for more than 100 foster children in central North Carolina.
Saturday marks the 12th year of the event, which will return in person for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
Children will get an envelope with $150 cash to spend however they choose at the Target in North Hills.
Scott Hannon Memorial Foundation member Brian Hannon said the mission is personal.
“My brother was killed in a car accident in 1991, and a group of friends of ours got together with family and we all decided to do something to remember him in a positive light,” Brian Hannon said of his late brother Scott.
Each December, the Scott Hannon Memorial Foundation comes together to make Christmas brighter for hundreds of local children in the foster system thanks to donations from the community.
Children alongside their chaperones flood the Target store as soon as the doors open.
“When people show up that day, they’re meeting perfect strangers,” said Renae Hannon, who is Brian Hannon’s wife and also helps with the Scott Hannon Memorial Foundation.
“By the end of their shopping spree just an hour or two later, they're embracing each other like they're old friends of family with each other.”
“The good that you give, you actually get to see and be a part of,” Brian Hannon said. “You get to develop a relationship with that child, you get to spend time with that child.”
Brian Hannon said his late brother leaves behind a legacy.
“To think that his memory would turn into something so great, he's got to be proud,” Brian Hannon said.
Brian and Renae Hannon even named their now-16-year-old son Scott in honor of his late uncle.
Through the generous support of the community, enough money has come in to make sure every child has an envelope with cash on Saturday morning. The Scott Hannon Memorial Foundation is always looking for donations so they can help even more local children. People who wish to make donations can visit the foundation’s website.
