The Newcastle Knights brought early Christmas cheer to unsuspecting shoppers at Charlestown Square Shopping Centre today by offering to pay for their Christmas shopping thanks to the Knights and the NRL.
Knights Jake Mamo, Nathan Ross and Aku Uate spent the morning approaching lucky shoppers as they made their way to the registers with their Christmas shopping.
From children’s toys, sporting equipment and clothes, the Knights did their bit to fill family’s stockings.
“It’s fantastic and was totally out of the blue. It means that I will be able to buy a few more things for my family,” one of the recipients Richard said.
For shopper Kim, who was shopping for her four children including her 8-week-old daughter, the surprise gesture of goodwill from the Knights and NRL came at a particularly appreciated time.
“I am absolutely blown away. You’ve caught me by surprise and I'm stoked,” Kim said.
“I’ve just had to have a $3,500 emergency operation, at Christmas time, so it’s really been an amazing surprise.”
Although the trio brightened the day of the shoppers Knight Nathan Ross said the players received just as much enjoyment from putting smiles on people’s faces.
“The best bit was the reaction from people and bringing joy to them,” Ross said.
“We bumped into two women called Jill and Jude, they had a trolley filled with presents. One of them has a husband who works away and she’s having Christmas at her house and having all the grandkids around. It was good to be able to help them with their Christmas presents and will mean there’s more food for the day."
“I think it was pretty good for the other guys as well, we all took something out of it.
“It’s good to give back to the community and hopefully we have a few more fans out of it.”
