INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) - Christmas came early for nearly 1,000 Indianapolis children in need Tuesday.
It's part of an annual event meant to bring smiles to kids' faces.
Eyewitness News photojournalist John Duong captured those smiles at the "Christmas Toy Giveaway" at the Murat downtown.
"This is more about like single parents and giving them outlets so not only do we do toys but the event itself, we have wraparound services here where families can take advantage of, to get assistance for their heating bills or if its financial education assistance, said Amp Harris. “We have programs here for that. But we also give them a concert, we feed the families, so it’s a night out of town."
Former Colts player Robert Mathis welcomed the crowd. "Thank you all for coming out here, thank you to the parents. We just want to bless the children and everybody."
"What do you see when you look out there? I see me,” said Harris. “I see myself as a young kid growing up with a single parent, the youngest of eight, and knowing my mother did everything she possibly could."
"To be blessed and be in a position to give back like this and have people like Robert Mathis, TY Hilton and Darius Butler and a host of other sponsors to be a part of this, it just means the world to me. It's very humbling. I don't look at myself like somebody buying kids toys. I look at myself as somebody who is in a position and that kid sitting in a table is me,” Harris said.