This season is the time for giving, and everyone, especially the Arabian varsity basketball team, has been in a joyful and caring mood.

Last week the Arabianbasketball team gathered at senior Kendall Marek’s house after practice for a team dinner and stocking stuffing. These stockings weren’t ordinary stockings though; each player “adopted” a foster kid from a foster care in the community and they stuffed Christmas stockings with as many gifts as they could. The kids they “adopted” ranged from four months to seventeen years of age.

The stockings, filled with gifts such as baby toys, candles, perfume, clothes, and candy, were returned to the foster care program to present to the children on Christmas Day.

“It was a really neat experience being able to give kids a little something they deserve more than anyone and I would love to continue to do this for them every year for Christmas from now on,” Marek said. “Some of the girls we had adopted were our own age and I can’t imagine how they feel during the holidays. My mom and I adopted a four-month-old girl, and I stuffed her stocking with baby toys, baby food, and clothes.” 

After every player selected a youngster to make a stocking for, they began collecting items they thought would be perfect presents for a person in that age group. While the Arabians gifted younger children, there is also a need to aid teenagers between the ages of 16-18 years old. 

“Being able to bond with my team and also help people during the holidays was remarkable,” sophomore Denise Contreras said. “This really opened my eyes and showed me that not everyone gets something for Christmas or gets to spend the holidays with their families. I’m so glad we had the opportunity to help the kids and make their Christmas special.”