Shaquille O’Neal is well-known for expressing his affection for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Shaq once surprised the children of Los Angeles with a snowy Christmas present that they would never have imagined seeing in their area. When he first arrived in Los Angeles to play for the Los Angeles Lakers, a little child gave the big man cause to go into Shaq-A-claus mode.
Shaq described in 2011 how, for a little child from a less fortunate home, he transformed Grand Avenue into a snow-filled street for Christmas. Although he often met all of the wants and demands of the children, this one stayed with him. According to Shaq Uncut: My Story, his 2011 autobiography, all it needed was for a little child to ask the Big Aristotle for something that only a genuine Santa Claus could do by looking into his eyes with a spark of hope. “What I’d really like for Christmas is snow,” he said, expressing his desire to see snowfall in Los Angeles. It’s something I’ve never seen. When I questioned my mother about it once, she told me that I would never be able to see it since we would be locked here forever.
The Lakers star often accomodates children’s wishes and goes above and above to ensure their pleasure on holidays. But this one resonated with him, and O’Neal urged his uncle to devise a strategy while they were returning to his mansion. Shaq’s uncle, Mike Parris, was known to grant his outlandish demands, so he made sure his nephew wouldn’t be disappointed.
“One month later, the rumble of three dump trucks thundering down Central Avenue sent the startled children of Watts flocking to the street,” Shaq said, giving the city cause for celebration on the day of happiness by finally granting the child’s wish. The parking area of their community center was converted into a wintry paradise, adorned with endless piles of snow that were brought in from Bear Mountain.
For years, Shaquille O’Neal has brought pleasure to Christmas.
Shaquille O’Neal has consistently given back to the community since entering the NBA. One of them is giving food and shelter on holidays to communities plagued by drug use and criminal activity. But Shaq’s Shaq-A-Claus program started because of an occurrence in 1992 that made him realize how important it is to help underprivileged children.
Shaquille O’Neal’s mother begged him for money so she could purchase Christmas presents for perhaps a thousand to two thousand less fortunate children. Shaq, however, decided to make those kids’ Christmas extra memorable after learning that they had been without anything for years.
O’Neal went to U-Haul with his uncle Jerome, loaded up a truck with gifts, and dropped five toys for every one thousand children. Shaq hasn’t missed a Christmas since then; it has now become a tradition. In order to cheer up those youngsters every year, he has even teamed with multinational corporations and enterprises. He has even taken his Shaq-A-Claus program to other cities.
