“This is the best field trip ever,” he shouted when he found out he was going on a once in a lifetime shopping spree with Lions tight end
Pettigrew teamed up with the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation and it’s "Touchdown for Kids" program to give Sesay and nine other kids in need from the club a Christmas they won’t soon forget.
The kids weren’t told where they were going on a field trip and were completely surprised when they arrived at the Roseville Toys “R” Us store. For some like Sesay, it was their first time ever in Toys “R” Us.
“It’s kind of cool because I never shopped in Toys “R” Us before,” Sesay said. “I thought we were going to go to a fancy dinner or something or going to a show or something.”
Instead, Sesay, his little brother Sekou Sesay and two friends had a personal chaperone in Pettigrew, who pushed their cart.
“The unemployment rate in Detroit is like 12 or 13 percent, so there are a lot of kids in Detroit who won’t have Christmas,” Pettigrew said. “This is our way of giving back. There’s so much more that needs to be done but this is a little bit.”
The kids split up into different groups with Pettigrew taking a group and Marine Corps members taking the others.
Pettigrew led the boys up and down the aisles filling his cart with Star Wars light sabers, board games, sports equipment, Nerf products and movies.
“Christmas was always good for me,” said Pettigrew, who grew up in Tyler, Texas. “My mom kept the real tree in the house so it always smelled like Christmas. I woke up to tons of presents.
“So, I don’t really know the other side of it. I just want to help out now as best I can.”
Each child was given a $50 limit but had no limitations on what they spent it on.
The Boys and Girls Club of SE Michigan will provide toys for all of its 152-member children this year.
In 2010, The Marine Toys for Tots foundation delivered toys to over 134,000 local children.
