“These kids come here so happy, and they’ve been through so much in their lives when you wouldn’t even think they have,” Thomas said. “These events are always special to me because they’re smiling, they’re happy where they’ve been through tough times. Like, I have half the worries they have, and they’re still smiling. That helps me out when I’m going through tough times. It’s like, people are going through worse things than I am, and they’re still pushing through. So these kids are everything. These kids are what keep me going.”