Anonymous donor sends foster and special needs kids on Long Island shopping spree

COMMACK, Long Island (WABC) -- In a random act of kindness, a generous and anonymous donor paid for a shopping spree for foster and special needs children at a Toys R Us on Long Island.

'Tis the season. So toy shopping is a typical sight to see around this time of year.

But this is not your typical Christmas shopping story.

150 needy kids, some foster children, some with special needs, were on a shopping spree at the Toys R Us in Commack.

The shopping spree was made possible by an anonymous donor.

"I'm really surprised. I wasn't expecting it at first..like every year we don't really do this," said one of the kids, Connor McCall.

The children are from the non-profit Family Residences and Essential Enterprises.

And Connor McCall was one of those lucky kids. The 13 year-old, fully aware of how special this moment is.

"He is brilliant. Such a sense of humor, full of life, such a pleasure to be around. It's really such a privilege everyday," said Julianna Ardolina, a FREE staff member.

Each child had about $200 to spend. That's enough money to buy enough toys to make any kid happy. But the toys, they're not the real gift.

"To me it's like Christmas morning," said program coordinator Stephanie Moore. "You wake up and you see the looks on the kids faces and see how happy they are and you come here and see all these kids and their parents get the opportunity to let their kids select anything they want that they might not have been able to do before, how can it not touch you."

And this moment, a gift for parents too.

"He's an amazing kid," said Connor's mom Shari. "He's got a great sense of humor. He's smart, he's funny, he's a good kid. He deserves this."

"What do you think about mom?", we asked Connor. "She's cool," he said.

And a mother holding her son's hand tight, overwhelmed by the generosity...That's a gift we can all appreciate.