LOS ANGELES  –  With Christmas music blaring through the speakers of the stadium’s sound system, an army of 500 elementary-age students from ten schools across Los Angeles, lined up to have Demi Lovato help them shop for toys and Jordana Brewster size them for a new winter jacket inside an open-air shop seemingly borrowed from the North Pole’s set designer. This isn’t a Hallmark movie. It’s the handiwork of Baby2Baby, a nonprofit that in its 13 years of existence has become as known for its efforts for children living in poverty as it has for its ability to mobilize a far-reaching celebrity network.

Last Tuesday, one of LA’s typical 70-degree December days, the children’s journey upon arrival to BMO Stadium in South Los Angeles for the holiday event began on mound of incongruous snow for sledding before they were ushered inside for clothes shopping, a visit to a toy shop, where Kendrick Lamar and his partner Whitney Alford were among those providing customer service, and a chance to shoot penalty kicks with pro soccer players. The first, second and third graders who shuffled through the stadium in squiggly attempts at straight lines didn’t seem to be aware that they were talking to celebrated entertainers, which almost made the sweet scene even sweeter. Events like this one are what has kept musician Kelly Rowland, a mom of two boys and a former member of Destiny’s Child, working with the organization for ten years.

“Baby2Baby will put you to work and that’s the best part,” said Rowland, who began collaborating with the nonprofit when she was pregnant with her first son. “You can’t talk about it; you have to be about it.” An onlooker may spot the sea of beaming, gap-toothed faces and think that’s an easy order in this case, but there’s a care and vulnerability required when serving the needs of young customers who wear their small hearts on their too-long sleeves. “I ran into a girl and she just talked, you know what I mean? She just talked. And as she’s talking, I’m listening and at moments, you want to tear up,” Rowland said. In this case, she said, she opted to show the strength that the moment called for. ‘You can feel everything you want. You’re going to talk to me, and I’m going to listen to every single thing you have to say,’ Rowland remembered thinking. “It’s so beautiful to hear their stories and their perspectives on whatever it is they’re going through.”

She’s moved, too, by the selflessness that’s often on display, especially by the kids who shop with their siblings in mind. “I say, ‘That’s so sweet that you want to get something for your sister, but what do you want?’ And then I sneak an extra toy in there,” Rowland said, laughing. “I just let them guide me because this is their moment.” In another corner of the toy shop, Olivia Wilde has filled her shoppers’ bags with everything from NASA Legos to friendship bracelet-making kits. The day, she said, is all about agency and the freedom to choose. (CNN)

Photo: Kelly Rowland has volunteered with Baby2Baby for ten years. (Getty Images)