CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — It may be the middle of summer in the Coastal Bend, but it's about to cool down for the weekend over in Flour Bluff as nine-year-old, Nate Gonzalez kicks off a Christmas in July event at In The Game Funtrackers. The event is a toy and sports equipment drive that he's working on through his non-profit organization, Nate's Next Kid Up.
Gonzalez, a fourth grade student at Flour Bluff Independent School District, has been working with Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of the Coastal Bend for several years holding toy drives and making donations to the organization. It all started during the 2020 holiday season when the young man decided to collect donation for CASA. That first year he was able to gather 300 toys for children in the Coastal Bend and since then has continued the tradition.
This year Gonzalez is working during the summer months to try and bring in even more for kids. Along with collecting toys, sports equipment, and they are also accepting school supplies as students are preparing to head back to the classroom.
"Kids should stay active and if they go to school they should have supplies to go to school and be prepared," said Gonzalez.
Nate Gonzalez will be at In The Game Funtrackers on July 22, 2023 from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. to collect donations. Each donation will earn the donor a one hour game card from In The Game Funtrackers. Santa Claus and The Grinch will also be at the event to take photos with anyone. Gonzalez is also raffling off signed baseball from the Corpus Christi Hooks and eight tickets to a home game.