Pro football player takes 15 teens shopping in Bradenton for the holidays
The spirit of Christmas showed on Saturday afternoon when pro football player and Manatee High School alum DeMarcus Christmas returned to his hometown of Bradenton to take several teens and their families on a holiday shopping spree.
Christmas, born and raised in Bradenton, was a four-star recruit at Manatee High School. He played for four years at Florida State University, where he was a significant defensive presence for the Seminoles.
In 2019, Christmas was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks and later signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Christmas joined the Canadian Football League in 2021, where he was a defensive end for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Christmas said that during his time with the Seahawks and Steelers, he helped his former teammates in giving back to families in their hometowns over the holidays and that he wanted to do the same for his hometown.
“I’m usually in the season at this time, so I don’t really get to give back to the community as much as I want to,” Christmas said while helping one of the teens find a Lego set. “I’m excited because this is the first year I’ve been able to do it.”
Christmas teamed up with Replay Outreach, a local nonprofit that provides mentorship to at-risk teens, and did exactly that on Saturday.
Christmas said that he decided to partner with Replay Outreach because he wanted to reach kids who are often overlooked during the holiday season.
“I feel like 12- to 17-year-olds are sometimes left out.” He said, “When you hear Christmas, it’s always the little kids, so I chose this group so those kids could come and fulfill their wishes and buy what they wanted to buy, because parents really don’t know what kids that age want.”
At 3 p.m., Christmas and members of Replay Outreach leadership took 15 students from Lincoln Middle School in Palmetto on a holiday shopping spree at Target in the Bayshore Garden shopping center. With red shopping carts in hand, the students all quickly made their way to the electronics and toys section.
Each family received a $200 gift card and was able to buy whatever they needed with Christmas Day only seven days away.
The teens loaded their carts with Nerf guns, Lego sets, Tech Decks and clothes. A few even showed their generosity by using their gift cards to buy items for their moms, siblings and other relatives.
Sir-Anthone Yarn, a seventh-grade student at Lincoln Middle School, was joined on the shopping trip with his grandma, Tawanda Simmons. He described going shopping with his Lincoln Middle classmates and DeMarcus Christmas as a memorable experience.
“I got a Sky Viper, a game and a lava lamp,” Yarn said. “This is a really good treat for me and my friends who are also shopping.”
The students who were selected to go on the shopping trip are all part of the Replay Outreach leadership program. Replay has leadership programs in Manatee and Sarasota County schools.
Tim Frost, the leadership development coach for Replay Outreach, said some of the teens tend to shy away from positions of leadership, but he hopes the experience will show them how true leaders are sometimes unexpectedly rewarded.
“I didn’t know this was going to happen, and they didn’t know this was going to happen,” Frost said. “So I hope they take away that when you step out of your comfort zone as a leader, opportunities open up for you.”
Replay Outreach was founded in 2012 to help at-risk youth and former juveniles in Manatee, Sarasota and Hillsborough counties discover their life purpose through mentorship. Their programs aim to empower at-risk youth to change their behavior for the better. They also take students on different exposure trips throughout the year allowing them to experience museums, in-shore fishing and ice hockey.
