KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – Homegrown Kansas City Royals stars Carter Jensen and Noah Cameron put on their Santa hats Friday night.
They took select lucky kids from the Urban Youth Academy on a holiday shopping spree at Dick’s Sporting Goods in the Northland.
“If I can help put something on like that, I’m gonna do it every time,” Jensen said about the event. “It means the world. I think being from here, seeing past Royals, past Chiefs putting together events like this, I never went to one, but I know how much they mean to the city.”
“We know how blessed we are being in Kansas City,” Cameron told KCTV5. “All the guys [on the team] tell us, you guys have no clue how lucky you are. So I think just being able to give back in our community.”
The kids – and their parents – were kept totally in the dark about all the surprises awaiting them in the store. They didn’t know they’d be meeting the two Royals and getting autographed baseballs from them.
And the shock in their faces when Jensen told them they’d each be getting $500 gift cards to go shopping – was priceless.
Homegrown Kansas City Royals stars Carter Jensen and Noah Cameron put on their Santa hats Friday night.(KCTV5/Katie Maher)
“You don’t think things like this will happen for you,” one parent, Jess Fullen, said about the surprise. “It’s super generous and unexpected. And you can just see the kids light up in disbelief.”
Jensen and Cameron were able to put so much money together thanks to some holiday cheer from their teammates Bobby Witt Jr. and Michael Wacha. Those two weren’t able to make the event in person, but they didn’t hesitate to do their part.
“They didn’t second-guess a thing. They heard what we were doing, and they were amazing,” Jensen said.
They may have been playing Santa for the night, but KCTV5 made sure to ask what they had on their Christmas wish lists this year.
“We just had a baby, so spending a bunch of money on them ‘cause they just cost a bunch of money, so that’s fun,” Cameron said with a laugh.
“A World Series next year! That’s on the Christmas list for sure,” added Jensen.
The two ended the special night with yet another surprise – taking the entire group out for dinner.
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