Residents of the St. Joseph’s subdivision on Mississippi Street were treated to gifts from an NFL player and former resident of the subdivision Thursday afternoon. 

The event was spearheaded by Damon “Snacks” Harrison, a defensive tackle for the New York Giants and a New Iberia native who grew up in St. Joseph’s subdivision. Through his “I Told The Storm Foundation,” Harrison was able to order about 120 toys that were distributed to children. 

Harrison, unfortunately, was unable to attend the event, but Harrison’s employee, Curtis Stewart ,said the toys were Harrison’s gift to his community for the holidays. 

“Damon basically said, ‘Let’s give back to the community,’ so we did an order to take care of the kids in the area,” Stewart said. “He grew up here and he’s very attached to the area.”

All in all, there were approximately 120 toys distributed to children in the subdivision throughout the day. Steward worked with James Russell, supervisor of student services with Iberia Parish School System, to itemize a list of children who attend schools in Iberia Parish in order to get a proper number of toys. 

“He (Harrison) really cares for this community,” Russell said. 

From the outset, the drive was popularity. Children started waiting in line starting at 3 p.m. near the leasing office of St. Joseph’s to receive a toy, which were then distributed throughout the day. 

There also gifts for older students, too. Items like gift certificates to local clothing stores were among the gifts available to high schoolers living in the subdivision.