Surprise Squad hands out gift cards to Phoenix shoppers ahead of Mother’s Day
Surprise Squad is sponsored by Valley Toyota Dealers.
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Sometimes, when people see a news camera pointing at them, the instinct is to turn and walk the other way. But if you’re in a Fry’s Supermarket and see Arizona’s Family’s Gibby Parra headed your way, you may want to see what he has to say.
That was the case when he and the Surprise Squad team showed up at Fry’s on 35th Avenue and Thunderbird Road. He had five $200 gift cards from the Valley Toyota Dealers that he wanted to give away to some lucky shoppers.
The first person he approached was a woman pushing her cart through the produce department. She was hesitant at first to speak with Gibby, but did admit that groceries were kind of pricey. He handed her one of his gift cards that she was reluctant to take at first, but he convinced her that there were no strings attached.
As Gibby moved about the store, he approached a man standing in line at checkout. He admitted it was getting harder and harder to pay for things. Gibby gave him one of the gift cards. “That would help out great,” the man said as he shook Gibby’s hand.
Gibby moved on, looking for a mom with her young daughter in the cart. He had spotted her earlier, but she made a point of trying to evade him. He saw her shopping for bread and headed straight her way. “I’ve been looking for you,” he said with a smile.
“I was running away from you,” she said with a laugh.
Gibby said that with Mother’s Day coming up, moms are often forgotten and get a gift bought at the last minute. “This year, how about you get $200?” he asked as he handed her one of the gift cards. She confessed that she didn’t want to be on TV, but she was thrilled with the gift courtesy of Valley Toyota Dealers.
The next person he approached was a woman shopping in the meat department. She tried to walk past him, but he wouldn’t let her get away. He said he wanted to give her $200. “Oh, I’d like that,” she admitted with a smile.
With the last gift card in hand, Gibby spotted a couple pushing a cart with a young boy in it. He gave the boy the card and told him to give it to his mom. Mom was thrilled and said they were on a budget.
“Just know if you ever see me inside of Fry’s, don’t be like the other mom and try to run away from me because you might lose out on $200,” Gibby said.
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