Ducks Treat Kids to Holiday Shopping Spree

For 16-year old, Miguel Cid-Rosas, a visit to Target last week was much more than a simple shopping trip. It was a life-changing event.
"This was amazing," Miguel said with an enormous smile. "I really loved the time."

Miguel spent the afternoon with his new buddy, Ducks defenseman Josh Manson, who helped Miguel pick out Christmas gifts for himself and his family. Items in his cart ranged from clothes to wireless ear buds to toiletries. But for Miguel, the most significant gift was the opportunity to spend quality time with a professional athlete.
"This makes the pro players seem real," Miguel said. "It makes me want to be just like them. I had so much fun with all of the players today."
Miguel was one of 10 students from the Santa Ana-based nonprofit The Wooden Floor who was treated by the Ducks to a shopping spree at Target in the Irvine Spectrum. The players, along with wives and significant others, as well as Ducks staff members, hosted the low-income youth for an afternoon of holiday giving that impacted the givers as well as the receivers.
"It was a lot of fun," said Manson. "Just seeing the look on Miguel's face, how thankful he was, that made it all worthwhile. I was excited to be able to come give back and do something like this. But when you really meet the kids and you get that personal relationship with them, it makes it all that much more special."
Ducks players Kevin Bieksa, Jared Boll, Cam Fowler, John Gibson, Jakob Silfverberg and Chris Wagner joined Manson as they donned their Ducks holiday sweaters and shopped with the students to provide them a Christmas they otherwise wouldn't have. Beyond the toys, shoes and electronics, it was the interactions with the players that inspired the kids the most.

"The players are really role models to the students," said CEO of The Wooden Floor, Dawn S. Reese. "In this two-hour opportunity of time spent with them, it changes the children. The players have a moment here where they are truly making a difference."
As a first-time attendee at the annual event, Manson was as excited as the students to be there. He not only helped Miguel pick out some clothes for his soccer season, but most importantly, he talked with the high school sophomore about working hard and dreaming big, as Miguel has aspirations to play collegiate soccer.
"It's such an important part of life, I think, being able to give back," Manson said. "It's something our ownership and this organization have taken very seriously. They've been doing a great job with it, and I've been very happy and extremely grateful to be a part of it. It's great to give back, especially at this time of year, it works out so well."
Silfverberg echoed Manson's sentiments about how being able to give gifts and time to the students in a one-on-one setting creates a more real experience.
"You see the smiles it brings to all of the kids, and you can't help but smile too," Silfverberg said. "It's a nice way to help people who need it, and to be able to do it in person, I think that's special because you really get to be a part of it."
This is the 10th consecutive year the Ducks have teamed up with The Wooden Floor to provide this experience for their students who are in need.
"We are so fortunate to work with the Anaheim Ducks over these 10 years," Reese said. "The kids often talk about how they can one day do the same and give back. So when I think about that legacy over the 10 years and how many children that's impacted through these experiences here, that's a pretty big impact that the Ducks and the Anaheim Ducks Foundation have made on children."

An arts-based youth development program founded in 1983, The Wooden Floor reaches underserved youth and their families through afterschool programs where they transform the lives of students through the dance. Each year 100 percent of students who graduate from the program immediately enroll in higher education, thereby working to break they cycle of poverty.
Thirteen-year old Giselle Arteaga's life has been changed for the better since she joined The Wooden Floor in 2012.
"Dance means everything to me," Giselle said. "I can't explain it, but it's just something I love to do. If I'm stressed out about something, I just come to class and it makes me feel better. My stress goes away. Being a part of The Wooden Floor is amazing."
Giselle shopped with Gibson, as the netminder helped her select clothes for herself and Christmas gifts for her brothers.
"This experience has been really great," said the eighth grader. "Just knowing that people are doing this for me means a lot. I don't think I'm ever going to forget it."
As they look forward to celebrating their 35th anniversary in 2018, The Wooden Floor is expanding their reach through a vision of growth that includes both licensing their model around the country and continuing to expand locally.
They've signed with a partner and licensee in Washington D.C. that has already accepted their first class of students. And they are opening their second Santa Ana location in February, a step which allowed them to accept 100 additional students into their program, bringing the number of students served annually to 475.
"Poverty is still here, unfortunately, but our role in this is to ensure that one child is changed and that they will then change the community. That's where our work is done," Reese said. "The effort of the Anaheim Ducks Foundation, the Samueli family and the Ducks players supports our level of excellence we have at The Wooden Floor. And the support the kids receive individually through shopping sprees such as this really makes them feel special."
For more information about The Wooden Floor, visit
thewoodenfloor.org
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