Christmas came a week early for twenty families in need in the Kansas City area.
The 20th annual Cars For Heroes event gave gifts and vehicles to those struggling to make ends meet.
The McDonalds of Lee’s Summit are one of the families who received help.
“We had talked to our children saying you know, we might not get anything for Christmas,” said Tom McDonald.
The Army veteran lost his job earlier this year. His family of six lost everything in a fire, but on Friday morning his four kids received Christmas presents.
“If we can help out a little bit, you know, that's the biggest reward in the world,” said Michael Bergen, whose Hands to Heart Foundation donated toys for the event.
Besides providing gifts for their kids, Cars For Heroes also gave the McDonald family a van.
“You got all those mouths to feed and life just deals you some bad things, and they just want a little hope,” said Terry Franz with Cars For Heroes.
Now Tom McDonald has a way to drive to his new job, and his family no longer has to make two trips in a smaller car to get where they need to go.
“Now we can actually go together and all go see lights. So it's amazing the kindness of people,” Victoria McDonald said of her kids who want to see Christmas lights as a family.
The McDonalds are just one of the twenty families who received Christmas gifts of toys and vehicles along with hope of a better new year.
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Patrick Fazio can be reached at patrick.fazio@kshb.com .
