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Children in the Sioux Falls area will be waking up on Christmas morning with toys and warm clothes under the tree. It’s all thanks to the Salvation Army and Walmart’s “Fill the Truck” campaign.
"It's going to be a fantastic thing when we know on Christmas morning they will open up a brand new toy and just be excited about it," Major Thomas Riggs with the Salvation Army said.
Helping bring donations in for families was former NFL player, super bowl champ and South Dakota State Jackrabbit, Adam Timmerman.
"Walmart really brought me in and had some excitement, enthusiasm, and awareness to what the Salvation Army is doing with their coat and toy drive for the Sioux Falls area," Timmerman said.
One person who knows first hand what a simple red kettles donation can do is Charles DeJesus. From the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City to the Rose Bowl Parade, DeJesus said it was the Salvation Army that gave him the opportunity to travel and play music. And now he gives back.
"It makes it come full circle, it's money that went to those red kettles before that funded programs for me to go to when I was a kid and stay out of trouble. Now here I am today and that's really cool," DeJesus said.