EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- They say lightning doesn't strike twice. But for 7-year-old Stefonte Crenshaw and his family, it did.
In mid-December, Stefonte was one of more than a dozen kids from local Boys and Girls Clubs invited to shop with Viking Adrian Peterson at Dick's Sporting Goods.
Less than a week before Christmas, fire destroyed Stefante's South Minneapolis home, all of the gifts purchased by Peterson, and everything his family owned.
The Vikings heard about the fire and wanted to help. A few days after Christmas, they invited the family to their practice facility in Eden Prairie.
Stefonte, his mother, his siblings, and several other family members toured Winter Park, visited the owner's office, watched part of a Vikings practice, and finally got to meet some of their favorite athletes.
"It was devastating," Peterson said. "I just wanted to do whatever I could to help the family."
Stefante now has a new signed football to replace the one destroyed in the fire.
His mother, Elizabeth McDowell, got a break from rebuilding their lives. She says they'll move into a new home soon after New Year's Day.
"Watching this in person is amazing," she said.
And Stefante and his family got a Christmas memory that can never be destroyed.
"It's so generous and heartwarming," said Cortez Wilson, a friend who lives with the family. "It really is a blessing."
(Copyright 2009 by KARE. All Rights Reserved.)