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OWASSO, Okla. — An 8-year-old Oklahoma boy is celebrating his birthday by donating 500 presents to Toys for Tots.
Chase Branscum said "I already have toys, and other kids don't," so decided in lieu of a traditional birthday party, he would hold a toy drive to help local children.
"They don't have toys and when they have anything for Christmas they can't play and they can't have fun," Chase told Fox 23.
More than 100 people showed up Sunday to Chase's birthday party, donating more than 500 gifts to Toys for Tots, which will give gifts to about 2,000 children this holiday season.
Chase's mother, Tiffany Rowe, said her son has a "wonderful heart."
"You want to raise your child to be generous and to think of someone other than themselves," she said. "Him doing this was a gift to me."
Chase is not alone in his birthday charity: a Tulsa teenager is donating gifts received for her Quinceañera to St. Jude's Children's Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.
Karen Gonzalez-Ortiz asked for toys instead of gifts for her 15th birthday party last Friday.
"I've had this idea since I was like 6 or 7 - the first time I saw it on TV. You get a real feel for what's happening to them and I feel fortunate because I'm not always in the hospital or having to take all kinds of medications that they have to do," she told the Tulsa World.
