Every year, it's easy for most of us to get caught up in all of the hubbub of the holiday season. Frantic Christmas gift shopping, gorging on unhealthy food and battling traffic to get to a celebration destination are all plights of the final two months of the year.
Unfortunately, the ironic twist is that those facets aren't what two of the biggest holidays of the year are supposed to center around. Charity, giving and time spent with friends and family is what November and December should be about. Count Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Wallace Gilberry in the group of folks who haven't lost the true sense of the holiday season.
Recently, Gilberry stopped into a local Cincinnati-area Target store and approached a young family of seven. There wasn't really a rhyme or reason for Gilberry's selection of the folks, other than him wanting to make the holiday a little bit brighter for five children and two parents comprising the Yeager family. Apparently, No. 95 on the Bengals' defensive line asked the youngsters what they had wanted for Christmas and their reply was a "Playstation 4" video game console.
Gilberry told them to grab a system and the games they wanted, along with an extra controller, and he'd buy it for the family for Christmas.
Gilberry stopped Yeager’s husband and said "I want to bless you and your family tonight," Yeager described.
Yeager said a gaming system was on her kids’ holiday wish list. Thanks to Wallace’s random act of kindness, the kids now have another item to ask for.
"We’re definitely ordering his jersey now. He’s got life-long fans," said Yeager.
After the surprise, Yeager said the family plans to pay-it-forward this holiday season.
"Regardless of if he’s a Bengals player or not, the act he did, he’s a great human for that."
The gesture brought tears to the eyes of the children's mother, Angelica, while the the men in the family were overjoyed and uber-excited. Often times, even though professional athletes and other celebrities create these opportunities, there is a bit of self-servitude with the acts. Whether it's promoting a charity through their social media platforms and/or having their publicist put things out in the mainstream, some of these famous people also enjoy the pats on the back they receive.
Gilberry seems to be the outlier in that respect. The only reason this story began to gain local and national traction was because of a Bengals fan on Instagram sharing a picture of the moment and describing the situation, as well as the Yeager family talking with the local FOX 19 affiliate.
Gilberry also spent yesterday morning volunteering at the Freestore Food Bank in Cincinnati, helping with their Thanksgiving turkey distribution. Though this contradicts the above-mentioned statement a little bit, we'll give it a pass, as it is another great gesture to the community.
"To whom much is given, much is expected." Great morning at the Freestore Food Bank ge... https://t.co/DcCg1vcK7k pic.twitter.com/LOT4F3dBKo
— Wallace Gilberry (@Gilberry92) November 24, 2015
Chills and tissues, man. Well done, Wallace.