A heart-warming scene as celebrities help Christmas come early for children in South Los Angeles

By Sandra Gonzalez, CNN

Los Angeles (CNN) — With Christmas music blaring through the speakers of the stadium’s sound system, an army of 500 elementary-age students from ten schools across Los Angeles, lined up to have Demi Lovato help them shop for toys and Jordana Brewster size them for a new winter jacket inside an open-air shop seemingly borrowed from the North Pole’s set designer.

This isn’t a Hallmark movie. It’s the handiwork of Baby2Baby, a nonprofit that in its 13 years of existence has become as known for its efforts for children living in poverty as it has for its ability to mobilize a far-reaching celebrity network.

On Tuesday, one of LA’s typical 70-degree December days, the children’s journey upon arrival to BMO Stadium in South Los Angeles for the holiday event began on mound of incongruous snow for sledding before they were ushered inside for clothes shopping, a visit to a toy shop, where Kendrick Lamar and his partner Whitney Alford were among those providing customer service, and a chance to shoot penalty kicks with pro soccer players.

The first, second and third graders who shuffled through the stadium in squiggly attempts at straight lines didn’t seem to be aware that they were talking to celebrated entertainers, which almost made the sweet scene even sweeter.

Events like this one are what has kept musician Kelly Rowland, a mom of two boys and a former member of Destiny’s Child, working with the organization for ten years.

“Baby2Baby will put you to work and that’s the best part,” said Rowland, who began collaborating with the nonprofit when she was pregnant with her first son. “You can’t talk about it; you have to be about it.”

An onlooker may spot the sea of beaming, gap-toothed faces and think that’s an easy order in this case, but there’s a care and vulnerability required when serving the needs of young customers who wear their small hearts on their too-long sleeves.

“I ran into a girl and she just talked, you know what I mean? She just talked. And as she’s talking, I’m listening and at moments, you want to tear up,” Rowland said. In this case, she said, she opted to show the strength that the moment called for.

“‘You can feel everything you want. You’re going to talk to me, and I’m going to listen to every single thing you have to say,’” Rowland remembered thinking. “It’s so beautiful to hear their stories and their perspectives on whatever it is they’re going through.”

She’s moved, too, by the selflessness that’s often on display, especially by the kids who shop with their siblings in mind.

“I say, ‘That’s so sweet that you want to get something for your sister, but what do you want?’ And then I sneak an extra toy in there,” Rowland said, laughing. “I just let them guide me because this is their moment.”

In another corner of the toy shop, Olivia Wilde has filled her shoppers’ bags with everything from NASA Legos to friendship bracelet-making kits. The day, she said, is all about agency and the freedom to choose.

“One boy said to me, ‘I want to pick something small so I can make sure I keep it safe,” she said. “And I appreciated that he was sharing that, and he wanted me to help him find something that he knew he could keep for a long time.”

Every child here, she said, reminds her of her own children, Otis and Daisy.

“It’s so wonderful to notice (the children at the event) feeling special and to know what it’s like when a kid feels taken seriously,” she said. “I just think it’s about respect.”

If one of the many cruel companions of poverty is the loss of choice — mostly due to attempts at one-size-fits-all solutions — Baby2Baby has worked to bridge the gap. Co-CEOs Norah Weinstein and Kelly Sawyer Patricof have built their organization with the goal of solving the problems few others see, like when they began manufacturing their own diapers to meet the needs of families feeling the burden of ballooning prices.

They also started a disaster relief team that aims to serve the specific needs of families in the aftermath of emergency situations, like providing cribs at shelters. The team recently helped with relief operations related to Hurricanes Milton and Helene.

The involvement of their celebrity network has been key to both their growth and reach.

“I think we’ve been very lucky with the group that we have assembled, and they couldn’t be more supportive. They’re not names on a piece of paper and they really show up for us, walk the walk,” Weinstein said.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.