The Abington and Pennsbury girls’ basketball teams combined their efforts to make it a Christmas to remember for one local family.
ABINGTON – Shannon Brady wasn’t quite sure how her name came up when it was time for the Abington girls’ basketball team to choose a family for its annual adopt-a-family Christmas project.
“I don’t know,” Brady said. “I have a feeling it might have been the school counselor.”
However it happened, there was no mistaking the fact that Brady was overwhelmed as she surveyed the stack of gifts that surrounded her on the bleachers, ensuring a Merry Christmas for Brady and her four children.
“It is really nice to be able to say – ‘Breathe, don’t worry, you don’t have to stress, you don’t have to worry where you’re going to get the $15 for a gift,” Brady said. “I just didn’t have to do that for the first time in years.”
Brady is the single parent of four children – two biological, two adopted.
“I’ve got four kids heading into college in under a year,” she said. “I was prepared to raise two and send them to college but ended up with four, which is wonderful, but it makes for some pretty steep financial issues. I was out on disability for a couple of years, and my husband was killed. I worked for the Philadelphia School District and was assaulted.”
Brady and two of her daughters were in attendance at last Thursday’s game against Pennsbury. Both teams were part of the gift buying with the visiting Falcons presenting Brady with a gift card wreath that included gift cards for AMC, Marshalls, CVS, Target, Wawa, Starbucks, Five Below among others.
“I think it’s so cool because so many people on our team are so fortunate to have the Christmases and families that we have, and I think it’s very nice to give back to people in the community that don’t have the opportunities we have,” Pennsbury junior Kate Mix said.
“It also shows a lot about who we are as a program and as a community,” Pennsbury senior Sydney Buell said. “As a school at Pennsbury, we’re always trying to help people out and do what’s best.
“When (coach Frank) Sciolla said their coach asked us to help with their adopt-a-family and give them gifts, we were all really excited and we’re like, ‘Yeah, we’d totally do that.’ It’s a great feeling, especially when I saw their faces when I handed the wreath to them. It brightened my day.”
While the Falcons purchased gift cards, the Abington players took the wish lists for the five family members and did some shopping for gifts, including a laptop computer that was at the top of the list.
“We each were assigned to get something for each person in the family, and everyone chipped in a lot of money, a lot of their time,” Abington senior Sam Brusha said. “It felt good just seeing their faces and seeing we could make their holiday a little brighter and happier.
Added senior Britney James, “It’s a good feeling seeing them happy, seeing the joy on their faces and them wanting to cry because people actually care.”
Choosing Brady, according to Marsh, was an easy decision.
“The mom has taken in two kids, and she ran into some problems herself,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “Here’s someone who’s always been giving back, so we figured it was our turn to give back to her.”
Brady acknowledged that being on the receiving end was unexpectedly difficult.
“It really was hard for me,” she said. “I think the kids, in some ways too – they’ve been so open and sharing, and we make it work.
“They were kind of like, ‘Are there other families that might need this more than us?’ I’ve protected them a lot because it shouldn’t be their problem, so the finances aren’t their deal. It’s hard, but it’s great too.
“I haven’t been into Target and just bought what I wanted to buy in four or five years, and I’m going to be able to do that. It’s amazing.”
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