Patriots Receiver Kayshon Boutte Hosts Holiday Shopping Event for Boston-Area Youth

New England Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte became Santa Claus for a day last Friday for Boston-area youth.

Before he and his team departed from Boston to take on the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, Dec. 21, Boutte teamed up with DICK'S House of Sport on Boylston Street to give $150 of his own money to 10 kids to buy sports apparel and merchandise. DICK'S also chipped in, donating $150 per child.

DICK'S House of Sport also partnered with the Ron Burton Training Village to host Boutte's surprise holiday shopping spree.

“I'm just getting started,” Boutte told the Boston Herald about the importance of giving back to the community. “I always was about the kids throughout my whole life, but it finally feels good to partner with someone to give back to the community.”

“I feel almost starstruck,” Coeli Mwangi, 13, a student at Fay boarding school in Southboro, told the Herald. “I didn't know what to do, and then it hit me a few seconds later. I was like, ‘Wow, I'm really here with a professional athlete, and he's paying for me.'”

According to the Herald, Boutte is having a productive season with the Patriots. Despite missing two games earlier this season, Boutte has 30 receptions, 511 receiving yards, and six touchdowns so far this season.

Boutte, a five-star recruit when he landed at LSU, was once seen as a potential first-round pick. However, injuries and off-field challenges ended his college career, and he found himself toward the bottom of the 2023 draft.

He reflects on adversity and resilience, stressing that brief setbacks don't define success. “Everybody's got the ups and downs of life, things that they've got to go through, but at the end of the day, it's all about how you come out on the other side,” he said.