Former NBA Player Kevin Martin hosts annual Shop with K-MART event

ZANESVILLE, Ohio- One former NBA Player is using his efforts to impact the lives of children in the heart of his hometown for the holidays.

With the help of 10 sponsors and lots of volunteers, Wednesday, the former NBA Player greeted children at Walmart and made their holiday special by taking them on a shopping spree.

“Tonight we have our Walmart shopping with k-mart event. This is our second year doing this. it’s just part of our tradition around Christmas time to do something in the community since it is such a special time of the year. We have about 60 plus kids tonight and they get to  spend a little money to buy gifts for themselves.

Amongst the joyful 60 children excited to begin shopping, we caught up with one brilliant little lady who was so gracious about her big blessing.

“Well I’m really excited to be here because well I wanted so much things like around here. So I’m just glad to be here,” said Participant, Juliana Rush. 

Although martin has been doing this event for quite some time, he says seeing the smiles on their faces and the joy in their hearts is what he looks forward to most.

“I can’t say my favorite part is the planning because my wife does a great job of picking up the event workload and just running away with it. I think my thing is just interacting with the kids and just seeing the spirit in their souls during the holiday season,” said NBA Player, Kevin Martin.

Although many know Kevin Martin as the NBA player who retired from years of great work on the court, Kevin is also an Ohio native who is passionate about  giving back to the youth. With the help of all the sponsors, along with Martin, about $10,000 was able to be spent for this event.