MINNEAPOLIS – A member of the Vikings Hall of Fame experiences all kinds of emotions. Cris Carter deals with Randy Moss’ announcement that he has cancer.

On Saturday evening, he surprised children on behalf of the Salvation Army with a gift bag containing nothing.

About 25 families attended and thought they would get dinner and a gift or two. For Cris Carter, the Salvation Army was his family’s salvation as a child.

“It was hard, you know. No father there, so that’s how I grew up. The Salvation Army was in my hometown in Ohio,” Carter said.

This still applies to families from the region today.

“Helps provide food, shelter and clothing for our family,” said Sahani Windom.

But what no one knew Saturday was that Carter had secured several high-end partners as sponsors.

Some of the gifts may have been a bit overwhelming.

“They had no idea that when we opened that back door, people’s lives would undergo a huge change,” Carter said. “Laptops, food, clothes, shoes, things like that.”

When the gift shop opened, kids and parents got all that and more.

It was a good night, but still a hard week. Carter and his former Vikings teammates deal with what Moss is going through with his cancer diagnosis, and Carter always thinks about it.

“What Randy is going through right now, I can’t imagine what he’s going through. I couldn’t imagine. As teammates, as a collective, as an organization, we just pray for him and his family.”