The Westside Gazette
The day after rap icon MC Hammer and South Florida humanitarian “Big Mama,” also known as Essie Reed, joined forces for a Christmas-time toy giveaway in Fort Lauderdale, the story received attention from The Westside Gazette. The Westside Gazette is a well-regarded, African American newspaper that first rolled off the presses in 1971.
The Gazette’s article focused on the element of surprise that helped make the event such a success. Neither the children nor their parents knew that Hammer was attending the event before he took the stage with Big Mama and Cash4Gold CEO Jeff Aronson.
Cash4Gold was a major sponsor of the Big Mama event, which was called The Stars of Life Toy Give-Away. Cash4Gold was excited at the opportunity to partner up with The Fort Lauderdale Police Department and Fort Lauderdale Parks and Recreation to help make sure the holidays were joyful to underprivileged youth living near Cash4Gold’s headquarters in Pompano Beach, Florida. The event itself was held at Joseph Carter Park at 1450 West Sunrise Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Read the full text of the Gazette story on the paper’s website, or below.
The Stars of Life Toy Giveaway was a huge success
By Staff Writer
Originally posted 12/22/2009
The Stars of Life Toy Give-away was a huge success, issuing hundreds of toys to community children. The Fort Lauderdale Police Department, Big Mama & Team of Life, Inc., three-time Grammy Award winning recording artist MC Hammer, Cash4Gold and Fort Lauderdale Parks & Recreation partnered up to celebrate the holidays with children from the community by presenting the Stars of Life Toy Giveaway. On Dec. 21, 2009, hundreds of preselected children from local nursery schools met at Joseph C. Carter Park for the unexpected surprise. Once the children arrive, MC Hammer appeared and provides a gift to each child, posed for pictures and signed autographs. MC Hammer’s appearance was a total surprise to the hundreds of invited guests in attendance. They did not know the legendary hip hop star was attending until he took the stage with Big Mama and Cash4Gold CEO Jeff Aronson.
