CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — It’s a role switch that doesn’t happen everyday — children shopping for their mothers.
Just four days before Mother’s Day, ten Coastal Bend families got the opportunity to shop for the mother figure of their life.
“What she wants? I don’t know,” said Aria Gonzalez. “She likes octopuses in the ocean.”
Although Gonzalez was far away from the ocean — she joined several others at the Academy Sports + Outdoors at South Padre Island Drive Wednesday evening.
“The Boys & Girls Club actually reached out and they wanted us to join them in being able to give back for Mother’s Day to the mothers,” Academy store director Ashley Rivas said. “I think that sometimes mothers are a little under-appreciated for everything that they do.”
The sporting goods store donated $3,500 for the shopping spree — awarding ten children from the Boys & Girls Club of the Coastal Bend with $300 gift cards to use on their mother.
“As a mother myself, it is a little bit harder sometimes to kind of put the focus on yourself, especially when you know the needs of your child,” Rivas said. “That’s why that’s one of the things that we really wanted to put that focus on is letting them know that we appreciate everything that they do.”
Sivan Gonzalez and her sister Aria shopped for their mother figure Monica Johnson.
“They haven’t really done anything like this before and it’s cool that they’re doing this for all the moms,” Sivan said.
Although they weren’t related by blood, it’s clear that didn’t matter.
“These girls — they changed my life they gave me a whole different perspective on what love really is,” Johnson said. “It’s just not everyday that the girls get to shop for me so that’s nice.”
Academy also highlighted Pearl Rodriguez — a single mother of two and nurse from Christus Spohn Shoreline. She was awarded a $500 gift card. She said was taken aback.
“Anytime I have anything I’ll usually just spend it on the boys,” Rodriguez said. “For somebody to say. ‘Here only for you.’ It’s — I don’t even know what to do with myself right now.”
Rodriguez was one of three who were nominated for the prize. She said it came at a time when things were difficult.
“I was at a point where I was very down,” she said. “I was sad and then one day (my children) just came to the car and told me that they had nominated me and I had won and it made me feel like people see the good that you do for your kids so I want to thank them.”
