Northwest Houston boxing gym gives away piles of toys to families Christmas morning

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- We know the holidays can be a tough time for struggling parents who may not be able to provide the Christmas that they want for their kids. But thanks to a northwest Houston boxing gym, dozens of families walked away with new toys Sunday morning.

Brandon Miller and his family fell on hard times earlier this year. But this Christmas, one thing he won't have to worry about is leaving his children empty-handed. He and his three kids were one of the dozens of families ABC13 saw lined up outside of Sweet Science Boxing Academy.

Children and teens had their pick from piles of toys inside the boxing ring. It's an excitement that Miller's son couldn't contain. He immediately started playing with his toys as soon as they walked out the door.

"The pandemic has made things kind of hard. So we just needed a little extra help for Christmas and the holidays," Miller explained. "My children pretty much lit up like a Christmas tree. The boxing gym had a lot of toys for them to pick through."

Adrian De La Garza, who owns the gym, said this is the third year they've handed out free toys to the community, which were all made possible by donations and sponsors. The first two years, he shared that they were able to serve about 400 people each time. It's one way for them to give back because they know what it's like to struggle at some point in their life.

"My mom always gave us a great Christmas, I'll say that. But I know how it was to not have a lot. Everybody has a hard time every once in a while. So there's no shame. We just come out here and try to do what we can for the community," De La Garza said. "Just to be able to provide a cool Christmas for these kids or have a cool boxing gym for the kids to come and train, it's everything. It's worth it to see kids smiling and teenagers come in here."

RELATED: Boxing coach changing lives and his community

The boxing gym also provides free boxing classes to children on Tuesdays and Thursday from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Doss Park. De La Garza said he's seen a positive response, so they may offer another class in the near future for teenagers.

For more information about Sweet Science Boxing Academy, visit their FaceBook page.

For more on this story, follow Rosie Nguyen on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.