Diamondbacks players take teens from difficult situations holiday shopping

PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday hosted 40 kids and teens from housing programs associated with A New Leaf — a nonprofit working with those who have experienced homelessness, domestic violence and other hardships — for a holiday shopping event at a Phoenix Target.

Corbin Carroll, Ryan Thompson, Andrew Saalfrank, Jordan Lawlar and Brandyn Garcia, along with former Diamondbacks J.J. Putz and Augie Ojeda, shopped with teenagers who had $250 gift cards to use on whatever they wanted.

“It was amazing getting to pair with some of these kids and just getting to see their heart. My kid, his name is Desmond, the first thing he wanted to do is buy his girlfriend and his mom Christmas presents,” Thompson said. “He’s like, I want to take care of my mom. I wanna take care of my girlfriend. So I thought that was really cool. We’re going to the makeup section, we’re trying to find mascara for his girlfriend. We have no idea what we’re doing. … It was fun, just great kid, great heart.”

Diamondbacks players went holiday shopping with kids yesterday in a partnership with nonprofit A New Leaf, which works to help those facing homelessness and domestic violence, among other tragic circumstances. pic.twitter.com/K5npadKl9t

— Alex Weiner (@alexjweiner) December 18, 2025

Laura Bode, the chief philanthropist officer for A New Leaf, said the holidays are particularly challenging for many kids going through tragic circumstances.

Bode explained the participating teens came from three of the organization’s housing programs. A New Leaf made sure the kids and guardians were comfortable with the idea, as many children from domestic violence pasts could be overwhelmed.

“Something like this just really kind of instills confidence in them that the community does care about them, that they matter,” Bode said.

“Being able to shop for their own toys gives them a power of choice, which in a lot of times has been taken away from them. So it’s really so much more than just a shopping spree. … They’re acting like kids and they’re having fun and that’s so freeing for them.”

Garcia said his shopping partner came away with an Xbox. Saalfrank had a fellow gamer to shop with, which he explained was perfect since he was able to provide tips as they warmed up to each other. Lawlar said he was moved that his kid wanted to shop for his mother.

Regular patrons shopping at Target on seemingly a random Wednesday during the holiday season were thrown aback by seeing pro ballplayers around in their jerseys, many of whom asked for pictures.

It can feel like an easy gesture, something even fun to do, but the most important part was that many of the kids were buzzing.

“Even if they don’t know who exactly we are or follow baseball super closely, I think for them to see a baseball player wanting to come spend time with them, I think that they think that’s kind of cool,” Carroll said. “I think we want all of our players  pulling on the same rope and that can be in a number of ways, on and off the field.”

“I think you don’t realize how much some of the little things can really mean,” Saalfrank said. “ I think it’s cool just to see that your teammates also care. Like for me, just like seeing Corbin, your quote-unquote star player, taking time out of his day for kids that he doesn’t know. It’s like, ‘Why can’t I?'”

 

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A New Leaf, based in Mesa, provides shelter for families with housing instability, childcare assistance and sexual and domestic violence support programs.

Bode said community members can get involved through volunteering, special events, donation drives or monetary donations.

“It’s meaningful for somebody, whatever their capacity is,” Bode said. “We need community support. We operate different shelters that don’t have a budget for food, so we rely on community members to come in and serve meals every night. So there’s lots of different ways to support.”

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