HOUSTON – Many families in the Greater Houston area may not be able to give their children a gift come Christmas Day. Each year, the KPRC 2 Spencer Solves It Team tries to help Santa bring joy to some of those families during Christmas Miracles Week.
We started the journey in November, asking viewers to help us identify five families in need. The team reviewed and vetted hundreds of requests until we had our families.
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Helping families this holiday season
The Spencer Solves It Team teamed up with Innovative Lasers of Houston owner Laura Alexis and the folks at Academy Sports + Outdoors.
Alexis gave each of the families a $1,500 check to buy a Christmas tree and gifts underneath it.
Then, Academy Sports + Outdoors gave each family a tailor-made bicycle and helmet for their children and a $1,000 gift card to purchase many more toys.
Watch ‘Spencer Solves It: Christmas Miracles Week’ Sunday at 12:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. in the KPRC 2+ livestream player below:
Meet the families
The Medina Family
This is the first Christmas the Medina family will be celebrating Christmas without their father and husband. Jesse Medina died of a heart attack a few months ago. To help bring smiles back to the family, The Spencer Solves It team stepped in with a few presents.
The Glazewski Family
Sometimes faith is a valuable thing to have. This year Mathew, Gina, and their four children relied on their faith to get them through a hard time. Gina suffers from a medical condition that causes seizures. Mathew tells us he is on the autism spectrum. The two of them have been out of work for months now, so The Spencer Solves It team jumped into action for them.
The Knott Family
A United States Army Veteran who served as a medic in Iraq suffered a rare medication condition that nearly killed him a little over a year ago. Tommy Knotts recovery hasn’t been ideal. He says it has kept him from working, and the debt piles up. His wife Brittany and him thought they wouldn’t be able to give their six kids anything for Christmas. Then, The Spencer Solves It Team stepped in with a little miracle.
The Fuentes Family
Abiella Fuentes tells us she continues to try and put back together a wonderful and happy life for her two girls. She was a corrections officer but could no longer work with convicted killers behind bars because her family lost their father in a horrific murder last year. To help lighten some of her stress, The Spencer Solves It Team told Santa they would stop by.
The Pehl Family
While on the job, Stephen Pehl suffered a paralyzing injury. This Christmas his family is continuing to help with his needs, but it’s hard to do on one income while recovering. To help this family get into the Christmas spirit, The Spencer Solves It Team answered a well-deserved phone call.
Unfortunately, for our “Christmas Miracles” series, the Spencer Solves It team has chosen the families from the hundreds of emails for this year. We look forward to continuing the tradition in 2023.