Rockets Bring Smiles To The Needy

The 45-year-old suffers from chronic pneumonia and has to stay tethered to an electric oxygen pump in order to breathe. Children were ripping open their packages like it was Christmas morning, tossing wrapping paper, ribbons and bows aside to reveal stuffed animals, Hello Kitty dolls, and Nerf guns. Nearby, their parents and grandparents watched with happiness and humility, earlier saying they wanted to provide a better Christmas for their children. The holiday party had hotdogs, chicken nuggets, wings and drinks aplenty, as well as artists who turned the children into caricatures in less than five minutes - all courtesy of the Houston Rockets. Goodfellows, now in its 102nd year, started in the Houston Chronicle newsroom in 1912 when then-city editor George Kepple announced his plan to help "the less blessed" by providing holiday cheer through toys for children. What began as staffers "passing around a hat" in the newsroom to collect money for the less fortunate has become an annual tradition that has survived the Great Depression and two world wars. Through its partnership with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, and with four distribution centers across the state, Goodfellows targets the "neediest of the needy," said Sweeney.