Athletes are competitive in just about everything they do, and it was no different as the Mavericks entertained and joined in the fun at their annual Cookies With Santa extravaganza on Wednesday.
As Richaun Holmes and a couple of his teammates were razzing rookie Dexter Dennis about his Christmas Tree decorating skills, the two-way player had a snappy comeback.
“I’m a decorator, for sure,” he said. “It’s going to be the first-ever Louis Vuitton Christmas tree.”
All the players on the Mavericks’ roster showed off their cookie- and tree-decorating skills for about 50 kids ages 3 through 8 from the Vogel Alcove, the acclaimed Dallas organization striving to help children and their families recover from the trauma of homelessness.
A visit from the man himself – Santa Claus – highlighted the event as the jolly man gave a reading of The Night Before Christmas.
And the evening was capped with Luka Dončić, Grant Williams, Tim Hardaway Jr. and their teammates handing out presents for all the kids to unwrap, with toys ranging from bicycles to miniature basketball goals and everything in between.
“It might be my favorite event because it brings everybody together and it’s what we are about,” Mavericks’ CEO Cynt Marshall said. “It’s the season of giving. Our players give back all the time, but to see them giving back to these honeys in this way and participating in this holiday cheer is amazing.
“Everybody’s smiling. The kids are smiling, the staff is smiling, the players are smiling. Everybody wants to do this.”
And as she saw Dončić dishing out cookies to the kids, she couldn’t help but beam. Less than 24 hours after passing out 17 assists in a win over the Los Angeles Lakers, Luka – a new father himself – was giving out even more important assists to the children.
“They worked hard,” Marshall said of the Tuesday win over LA. “And we always say they are champions on the court and champions off the court. They showed us on the court yesterday and now they’re showing us also what’s on the inside. And it’s beautiful.”
Cookies With Santa has become an annual distribution of Christmas cheer for the Mavericks, who partner with Jefferson Dental & Orthodontics, the official dentist of the Mavs, to sponsor the event. Members of the ManiAACs, D-Town Crew and mascot Champ were on hand to entertain and play with the kids.
Besides the presents, each child went home with a goodie bag full of presents and necessities – including clothing and dental kits – for the holidays.
“It’s terrific for us,” said Karen Hughes, president and CEO of Vogel Alcove. “Our kids look forward to it every year and it’s amazing that they do it. All our families are homeless, or recovering from homelessness, so anything that can help, especially in these economic times, is a big help.”
Vogel served about 200 kids at Christmas time last year and so far this year has 134 children enrolled at their main site just south of downtown Dallas and another 50 at the new north facility.
Tamsyn Morison, the lead mental health clinician at Vogel Alcove, said the therapeutic value the Mavericks provide via Cookies With Santa cannot be measured.
“Each year, our kiddos get to participate in this awesome event,” she said. “Our families get to make a wish list and the Mavs get to fulfill that wish list for them. It’s something that each year around the holidays – obviously our families are going through different things – so this is one less thing that they have to worry about, getting the presents under the Christmas tree.
“And for them, knowing the kiddos are going to have an amazing time and get to take something home with them is awesome.”
A small army of teachers and family support members came with the children from Vogel Alcove and the kids were the stars of the show – at least until Santa arrived.
They all were happy to see the man himself. And the feeling was mutual.
“It makes me feel happy to help with the kids and it’s great working with the Mavericks and the other organizations,” Santa said.
He then related that he had made a previous stop for another member of Dallas’ ever-giving pro athletes.
“I was at Dak Prescott’s foundation event and I told him the Cowboys already gave me the best present by beating the Eagles,” Santa said. “They’re on the naughty list forever.”
That, of course, is because fans at a 1968 Eagles game in Philly not only booed Santa Claus, but threw snowballs at him.
Things were a lot more festive on Wednesday as the Mavericks celebrated the holidays with the kids.
After all, most of the Mavericks’ players are still young enough to be considered big kids themselves.
“It’s amazing to see,” said Dante Exum, who celebrated the birth of his first daughter last week. “So many smiles on the kids’ faces, especially knowing in a couple years, it’s going to be my little kid running around and being excited about Christmas.
“It’s good to spread some joy. But I think they’re more excited to see Santa than us players.”
Maybe. But spreading the joyfulness truly was a group effort.
X: @ESefko
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