Excitement and happiness filled the air yesterday at the Circle Centre Mall as the Indiana Pacers hosted Shop with the Pacers, presented by Simon Malls. The event was part of Pacers Cares and the NBA Cares Season of Giving Campaign. In conjunction with Simon Malls, the team catered to families from the Shepherd Community Center by providing them with a pizza dinner and holiday shopping spree.
Lavoy Allen, Solomon Hill, Ian Mahinmi, Glenn Robinson III, Rodney Stuckey, Jordan Hill and Joe Young led children through Circle Centre and helped them spend the $100 gift card they received from Simon Malls. The entire evening is definitely a player favorite.
Photo Gallery: Pacers Players Take Kids On Shopping Spree »
"I like being around the kids," Young said. "I like showing them around and taking them shopping. It's one of the things I wanted to do with NBA stars back in the day."
"I do a couple different toy drives and take kids shopping on my own, and I thought it was pretty cool we do it as a team, and I wanted to do that," Robinson III said.
From all of the smiles and laughter during the pizza dinner alone, it was easy to see the kids were enjoying themselves. But once the shopping began, the exuberance of those in attendance reached another level.
Everything from hats, hoodies, shirts and shoes to jerseys and jewelry flew off the shelves as the youngsters were eager to fill up their shopping bags. According to Hill and Robison III, seeing the shopping in action was their favorite aspect of the night.
"It's good to see the looks on their faces, the expressions, when they take their gift card up there and get what they want," Hill said.
"Just seeing the different things kids pick out (is my favorite part)," Robinson III said. "It's interesting to see."
But the receiving didn't stop at the gift cards. In addition, each family there was given tickets to a Pacers home game, a Kroger gift card and a Pacers goodie bag.
The evening was a success and great representation of the Holiday season and meant just as much to the players as it did the families.
"It means a lot for me to be here, to show my face and let them know I'm above just a basketball player," Young said. "I like the kids and to hang out with everybody. For me to come out here today, it's really truly an honor."
"Christmas was a big deal for me as a kid," Robinson III added. "It's pretty cool to go out and go to different stores and spend time with some of these kids."