TYLER, Texas — The Children's Miracle Network at Christus Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler received a special gift to help make the holidays a little brighter for kids in the hospital.
"It is my honor today to present this check to Children's Miracle Network for the CBS19's Merry Miracles on behalf of Larry Sauls and Friends, Pro Electrical, Matt Roy Woodworking, Elliott Electric Supply and Rush Truck Centers," said Larry Sauls, with the nonprofit Larry Sauls and Friends.
CMN received a $5,000 donation from Larry Sauls and Friends to go toward the Santa's Workshop at Tyler's Christus Mother Frances Hospital. The toys are available to the families of pediatric patients and babies in the NICU to pick out for free, allowing families to not have to leave their kids at the hospital to go shopping for Christmas.
This is the third year of Santa's Workshop and it's also the biggest.
"This year, thanks to Larry Sauls and Friends, we were able to have donations where I could pre-shop and fill this and open it up early for the Christmas season and have it going through December," said Katie Maxwell, child life specialist at Christus Mother Frances Hospital. "And it's just so special to have a bigger room and expand it. Now, we have infant items that people don't normally donate a lot of. So we can extend it to our NICU families as well."
Sauls said it was a wonderful feeling for his nonprofit to donate toward CMN.
"This is the first time I've ever did anything like this for the Children's Miracle Network," Sauls said. "So it was neat to see the kids come in and get the toys."
Larry Sauls and Friends started in 2020 and and has been traveling throughout the state donating toys, providing holiday dinners and helping people in need.
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