ROCKINGHAM — Ten-year-old V.J. Whaley picked up a brand new RCA tablet computer, thanks to New Orleans Saints linebacker Dannell Ellerbe.
“He did pretty good,” his mother, Alisa Cherry, said about the items he put in his cart. “He’s got a tablet, shoes, boy stuff.”
She said the tablet was the first thing he went for, even grabbing a charger so he can take it anywhere.
“That was smart,” she said.
Whaley was one of 59 children to get a $100 gift card from Ellerbe at Walmart early Monday morning — although the Richmond County native couldn’t be there in person because of a game against the Detroit Lions.
“He was hoping he would’ve been able to make it,” said Ellerbe’s wife Shervella, who was at the store giving out cards for the second year.
Ashley Morman, with the Richmond County Department of Social Services, said the children were referred by the school system.
“We had the counselors select children who are excelling in school but financially needy,” she said.
Morman is also a personal friend of Ellerbe’s and graduated from Richmond Senior High School with the professional football player in 2004.
“I got what I really wanted,” 11-year-old Ian Thacker said after checking out, pointing to a Pokemon card set, a Halo Megabloks set and an Airhogs remote control helicopter-launching vehicle.
With parents helping them in the shopping spree, the kids got clothes in addition to toys.
Tonya Parcell, from Jackson Springs, has two children at Mineral Springs Elementary School — Courtney Cummings and Jacob Bullard — who were recipients because of their academics.
“It was a big surprise and they were really grateful for it,” she said. “They were chosen for their hard work and that makes me a proud mama.”
Shervella Ellerbe got a thank-you hug from both kids before they left the store, in addition to three letters, which she plans on reading with her husband after the game.
While in Walmart, she was also shopping for another charity, buying hygiene products for a stuff-the-purse campaign for the homeless.
“I was always raised that it was better to give than receive,” she said. “It’s just very important to us. We want to make a difference while we’re in the position to do so.”
They also started recognizing children who have the giving spirit with the Little Angels award.
This past summer, at the conclusion of Ellerbe’s fourth annual football camp, he presented the award to Tatum Rhyne.
Rhyne, now 10, has been using her birthday to collect money and donated goods for others since she was 6.
“If we can get more people like that, just think what our town could accomplish,” Shervella Ellerbe said. “It has to start somewhere.”
Reach reporter William R. Toler at 910-817-2675 and follow him on Twitter @William_r_Toler.
