After a U-Haul loaded with nearly $40,000 worth of toys was taken from a South Los Angeles home, it appeared a giveaway scheduled for late Saturday would not happen. A Chargers linebacker and the rest of his community had something else to say about that, arriving just in time with hundreds of toys.
Surveillance footage shows the moments the truck was taken from outside Eugene Henley’s home in Windsor Park early Saturday morning. They say all the gifts originally on the truck were donated or purchased by the Henley family, the Chargers or private parties.
“To think that someone stole a bunch of toys, stole Christmas, that’s kind of crazy,” said Henley, who helps run his family’s nonprofit called Developing Options.
That’s when they remembered their 20-year tradition of donating the toys to Crenshaw children. should have a disappointing ending.
As Henley spoke with KCAL News Saturday evening, truckload after truckload of new toys suddenly appeared outside their home.
“Damn almost a Christmas miracle, you know what I mean, here in South Central!” said a man.
After hearing about the tragedy, the community came together to make another round of donations to keep the holiday spirit alive, thanks in large part to city leaders and the Los Angeles Fire Department, who are running their own toy drive.
“This is a great rescue,” Henley said. “This is a great rescue from the community because we didn’t have any toys. And I’m just so happy.”
“At one point there was a lack of hope,” said Daiyan Henley, a Crenshaw native in the midst of a breakout campaign with the Bolts. “But you have certain people in this community who don’t go for it and I think that just shows the inner strength. And that’s what you have now, a community that stepped up and made it happen.”
They are still hopeful that the person who took the truck can come forward and return the stolen gifts.
