x
Breaking News
More () »

'It's my responsibility to help them': Midlands 9-year-old becomes a local Santa

The 9-year old said God wanted him to take the toys he has and make a difference for those in need this holiday season.

Columbia, SC (WLTX) - One Midlands 9-year-old is hoping to make Christmas brighter for families in need.

Lentrell Myers is just like any other 9-year-old, and it's no surprise that he loves to play with toys. While he loves playing with them, he’s got something special in store this holiday season.

"I kept on collecting fast-food toys and I wanted to share them," said Lentrell.

The 9-year old said God wanted him to take the toys he has and make a difference for those in need this holiday season.

"They need to enjoy Christmas because probably they've never had a Christmas. Their parents can't afford much stuff so it's my responsibility now to help them," explained Lentrell.

Denise Kinloch is the school social worker at Greenview Elementary where Lentrell is a third-grader. She says when he brought the idea to them, they knew families at the school could really use the help.

"Those families didn't have anything provided for Christmas for the children. A couple of parents we called were like, 'Thank God, I was just wondering what we were going to do for Christmas,'" said Kinloch.

A toy drive at the school, plus the toys Lentrell has already collected, is going to help make Christmas happy for eight families.

Part of the reason the 9-year-old is blessing others is because of his mother, who's on dialysis.

"I really want God to heal her and make her revive and I want her to be a mom like she was back when I was little," said Lentrell.

Above all else, Lentrell is happy just to make a family's Christmas that much brighter.

"They're going to go home, have fun with them. They're going to tell their parents that they got them and their parents are going to be so happy that they had a great Christmas," said Lentrell.

Lentrell says he's planning on getting toys and clothes for next year. He wants to carry this one every year for the rest of his life.

Before You Leave, Check This Out