KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne reports on stories in Overland Park, Johnson County and topics about government accountability. She first met Jack Punswick while sharing his story of surviving cancer as a high school senior and using his Make-A-Wish to launch a toy drive for other kids. Share your story idea with Isabella.
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The holiday season is all about giving back and everyone knows the Kansas City area does it best.
An 18-year-old from Johnson County got into the holiday spirit by giving back to others. Jack Punswick shared with KSHB 41's Isabella Ledonne his once-in-a-lifetime wish with the Make-A-Wish foundation was to launch a toy drive for kids at Children's Mercy.
He encouraged the Kansas City metro community to donate to his toy drive, and that inspiration got all the way to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Few 18-year-old young men would trade a trip to the Bahamas for a toy drive, but Punswick knows the heartbreak of spending Christmas in a hospital all too well. He was receiving chemotherapy for Hodgkin's lymphoma last year over the holidays.
"It was a daily battle, and you have to win each day," Punswick said. "For my Make-A-Wish, I really wanted to think about how I could help the most people."
Punswick has been cancer-free since April, and launched a toy drive six months later for kids spending the holidays at Children's Mercy Hospital.
"Every gift is bringing individual joy," Punswick said. "That's a great gift by itself."
So who better to help Punswick win his Make-A-Wish than Super Bowl champions Mike Danna and Chris Jones.
"Today was awesome," Punswick said. "Like we're going to go shopping with Chris Jones and Mike Danna? Just super grateful."
The trio filled several carts with Legos, Barbies, and of course, footballs.
"I think I got some of the best toys," Chris Jones said. "I grabbed a couple of footballs, of course, the bouncy balls that you barely touch them and they bounce into the ceiling. I don't get to go in stores often and just be a kid and for me, this was amazing."
All the toys will be heading to pediatric patients at Children's Mercy this week.
"It's the holiday season, so there's no better feeling," Mike Danna said. "It's just about giving back. Anytime you have the opportunity to do that, and make everybody else's day better, do it."
Punswick fulfilled his wish of shopping for others and had quite a few laughs along the way, too. The trio tested out basketballs and golf clubs in the aisles, and dunked on KC Wolf a few times, too.
"For me, it was like, "What else do I have to do, other than give back?"' Jones said.
Several other Chiefs players shopped around Scheels in Overland Park, too. 10 kids from Youth Guidance got $1,000 to shop with a Chiefs player at the store on Tuesday night, joining in on the holiday spirit.
Punswick raised $2,100 for his Make-A-Wish toy drive spending spree, plus a surprise match donation from Chris Jones. Collectively, they spent more than $4,000 on toys for pediatric patients.
"It was just a beautiful act by [Jones] to double the donation," Punswick said. "That's just so much more joy to these kids. For me, I'm just grateful to be here."
Danna and Jones are role models to thousands of people, but their inspiration this holiday season is an 18-year-old from Olathe.
"You look at everything Jack's been through, his story, his journey and for him to have such a soul, to not only come for itself, but to give back. I mean that speaks volume about his character," Jones said.
"Having somebody like Jack that's willing to give back to the other children and everybody else speaks volumes about what he stands for," Danna said. "That's something you gain respect about and it's an honor to be here."
Jack and his family will be delivering the gifts to Children's Mercy Hospital this week.
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