Phoenix Suns spread holiday cheer by shopping with kids
Phoenix Suns Oso Ighodaro and Koby Brea shop at Shoe Palace with kids from Helping Hands for Single Moms and Wesley Community Center on Dec. 12, 2025.
Phoenix Suns big Oso Ighodaro would’ve been all about this as a kid.
The Phoenix Suns/Phoenix Mercury Foundation continued their “Season of Giving” events with a holiday shopping spree on Dec. 12 at Shoe Palace in Phoenix for kids from Helping Hands for Single Moms and Wesley Community Center.
“They got some Jordans,” Ighodaro said. “There were a couple of pairs I was like, I might look into that myself.”
He laughed, adding: “They both had great tastes. Some good outfits. Some good shoes. Great choices.”
Suns rookie guard Koby Brea and Ighodaro participated in the shopping spree as they helped the chosen kids select shoes, clothes and gear.
“Little man, he got like four pairs of Jordans,” Brea said. “I’m like, if I was him, I’d do the same thing. Coming into the store and seeing all these shoes, I’m going to go for the best right away. I’m happy. He was really quick with it, quick and efficient. He knew what he wanted and he got it.”
Ighodaro and Brea are working with the two community groups throughout the 2025-26 season.
“It means a lot,” Brea said. “Just to be able to help other families, especially during this time of the year. Christmas is something we always look forward to. Just to make sure that they have some nice gifts under their tree is going to be really cool.”
Ighodaro found himself trying to keep up with a lively kid at the shopping spree as the young boy was with his mom and two younger siblings.
“It’s great, just to give back around the holidays,” he said. “Families who may not be able to do it themselves is always great. Glad I get to be a part of this.”
Shoe Palace store manager Sandy Hernandez was just as excited as the kids watching them gather whatever they wanted from the store.
“I think it’s super, duper cool,” a smiling Hernandez said. “What kid wouldn’t dream of this, you know?
“Coming into a super cool shoe store, buying a bunch of stuff for themselves, maybe even for a family member. Super cool for the Suns to do this, especially since they are our home team.”
The shopping spree lasted about an hour as each family went to the store register to check out and walked away with bags of clothes, shoes and gear.
“I love it, honestly,” Hernandez continued. “It makes me super happy that our team is able to help these children buy a bunch of stuff that’s really going to make them happy.”
Liz Santana is in her first year as a beneficiary of Helping Hands for Single Moms. She was with her son, James, at the shopping spree, as they were so appreciative of the cause.
“Never been part of anything like that,” Santana said. “It’s a great help. Being a full-time student and having a part-time job, a full family mom. It’s good.”
Chris Coffman, executive director for Helping Hands for Single Moms, was beaming in attendance at the shopping spree.
“These single moms we help go to college, they are working so hard to succeed,” Coffman said. “Move their families forward, give them a brighter future. It’s a really tough time of the year because it’s the end of the semester. Finances are tight. They don’t have money for Christmas presents or Hanukkah.
“To be able to come here and take care of their Christmas is awesome. So thoughtful of the players to do that.”
Helping Families for Single Moms provides a $4,000 scholarship, rental assistance, holiday gifts, community meetings, free auto repair and more services to help single mothers while they are attending college, Coffman said.
“For a single mom to be able to provide for her family quite often requires a college degree,” Coffman said. “Seventy-five percent of all the scholarships we give to single moms go to nursing students. They start at some very good wages, but it’s a really hard journey for them to raise their kids, manage a home, go to school and work.”
Former Suns player and TV analyst Eddie Johnson has put on fundraisers to benefit Helping Hands for Single Moms through his “Eddie Johnson & Friends Celebrity Events.”
This year’s poker night, golf tournament and closing gala raised over $300,000 according to the program’s website.
“The Phoenix Suns have done so much for us over the years,” Coffman said. “Thousands of tickets for our moms to go to games. One year, a $100,000 endowment fund that they started for us (in 2019). Eddie Johnson has brought out a lot of athletes from the Suns at our events and they’ve been really good to us.”
The initial $100,000 endowment has grown to more than $350,000 according to the program’s website.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-810-5518. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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