NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - One group of South Florida brothers are looking forward to a special Christmas thanks to a man who chose to put them first when they needed someone to turn to.
Four boys — Brain, Michael, Jordan and Anthony — have had a harder year than most. They were found living on their own for six months, fending for themselves after their mother left them.
“We’re here to donate to the Boys and Girls Club, but we also wanted to put some emphasis on these four boys that really needed to know that Christmas was important,” DJ Bigman Kelly said.
“This family came to us by way of Broward Schools and also Child Protective Services,” Phyllis Harris, of Broward Health’s Kinship Cares Initiative, said.
The boys opened up to Larry Mancebo about it, and soon after, they attended one of his church youth groups and struck up a relationship with him.
“Everything was a mess, pretty much,” Mancebo said. “Even when it comes to food, they wasn’t even feed right. They’ve been struggling a lot. Some of the times, they used to go to the corner store or to Little Caesars, and sometimes, people would give them a box of pizza or stuff like that. There was weeks when they weren’t eating at all.”
“There’s so many times I’ve been thinking I was going to end up somewhere far away from my family, from my brothers, away from them,” 16-year-old Michael Gutierrez, the oldest of the four brothers, said.
However, the boys stayed together thanks to Mancebo, who stepped in to take care of them.
“It’s been a very hard situation for them since day one, but I’m happy to be able to stand by their side today and to be able to see them smile,” Mancebo said. “It’s been a while since they’ve had a Christmas. Its been a while since they’ve had a smile at all.”
Organizations across South Florida came together to gift them some support this holiday season.
DJ Bigman Kelly, along with the Black Sheep Riders Motorcycle Club, donated a $500 gift card. It’s money that will go a long way toward giving the boys a special Christmas.
“I can say that each one of them have become a blessing in my life, that I love them to death, and I want them to grow up to be great men, to have their dreams come true,” Mancebo said, “and sometimes, love is about sacrificing.”
“There’s people out there that care,” Michael said. “Even if you don’t see them or hear from them, there’s people out there who care.”
One of the boys said they secretly plan on buying a gift for Mancebo with part of the donations they got, but we won’t spoil the surprise.
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