Area softball team surprises Sauk Valley families with gifts

DIXON – Although Santa Claus typically relies on a squad of nine reindeer to help deliver presents to children, he sometimes defers to a softball team to surprise a family with gifts.

That was the case Wednesday evening in Dixon and neighboring Rock Falls, where members of the Sauk Valley Steam Academy, an all-girls, non-profit softball organization based in Morrison, brought gifts to two families in need.

In Dixon, players and their coach, Antonio Castaneda, filed into the kitchen of Ronnie Hicks’ house to surprise his two daughters – 8-year-old Makenly and 9-year-old Rhylen, who has autism – with Christmas presents.

Ronnie, who was diagnosed in June with brain cancer, hasn’t been able to work since then.

“I really appreciate you all doing this. Thank you so much for doing this for our family,” Hicks said to the players, who deposited a stack of gifts for the girls.

While there weren’t any cookies for Santa’s stand-ins, the team was content enough with just the feeling of selflessness.

Laila Keeling, 11, who plays first base and pitches, said giving the gifts to the Hicks family meant a lot because she knows how it feels to receive presents every Christmas.

“To not get presents, I can’t imagine how that would feel,” Keeling said. “And being a girl myself, it’s very special to be giving to these girls individually. They’re the age of my siblings, and it means a lot to them to get presents ... so it probably feels the same way to these girls.”

Castaneda, a father of four, said he got the idea to help families in need through social media. Another organization was coordinating a similar exchange, and he figured his players and their parents could raise money for gifts, too.

So Castaneda took to social media again, asking his friends if they knew of anyone who might be struggling to pay for their kids’ gifts this year, one marked by economic and social hardships.

“At first we had just one family, and then we had a second,” Castaneda said. “I know it’s tough right now, and a lot of all families are having a hard time, so I thought: ‘We’ll just do both.’”

All in all, the team raised and spent a little more than $350 for the gifts. The Rock Falls family, a single mother with four children, also received their surprise from the team Wednesday evening.

“These families were already having a tough time with the pandemic, and just doing this we helped them in a big way, I think,” Castaneda said, adding that he plans to repeat the surprises next year.

“I want these players to have the chance to help out people in need,” Castaneda said. “And I wanted these girls to have the chance to have a great Christmas, even with all that’s going on.”