Like many kids, Talan Carruthers, 12, enjoys heading to the arcade to collect tickets. Unlike many, he is cashing in those tickets to use on others, according to the Post Dispatch.
In early September, Talan headed to the Funcade on the Boardwalk in Ocean City, Md., with his whopping 268,000 tickets to redeem them for prizes that he donated to families in his community. An Xbox, bicycles, a flat-screen TV and Amazon Fire tablets were among the gifts.
“I wanted to help kids have a better Christmas because there are a lot of kids that don’t get any presents,” Talan said.
Last year, he collected 255,000 tickets and did the same thing. His father, Brian Carruthers, said Talan uses money he gets from chores, birthdays and holidays to spend on arcade games when the family visits the beach every summer. Funcade GM Stephanie Meehan said the Carruthers family is one of many customers that donate toys on an annual basis.
