The College Station 6-year-old joined children from Wisconsin and Pennsylvania as one of three grand prize winners selected out of 150,000 entries to compete in a Nickelodeon Toy Run: Family Style shopping spree in their community. With three minutes on the clock, Faith -- with some assistance from her mom, Carol -- ran through the store's toy aisles, dropping one item after another into her carts.
"The experience is everything. I'm still in awe, still in shock. I'm still taking all this in," Carol Moore told The Eagle.
Friends and family members gathered at the store to watch Faith's run and cheer her on. People cheered Faith online as well via Nickelodeon's Facebook Live video of the event, below:
Nickelodeon's original Toy Run aired during the 1990s, and the experience is back as Nickelodeon Toy Run: Family Style.
"It's a new generation of kids. They used to do Toy Runs back in the '90s, and now it's like parents who are watching their kids do the Toy Run," Toy Run host JoJo Siwa said.
One of the highlights for Faith and the run's spectators was the appearance by Siwa. According to Wal-Mart officials, Thursday's event in Bryan was the only one she was able to attend in person.
“They called us and they were like, 'Hey, you know Jojo’s coming,' and she was like, 'What,'" said Moore.
Faith Moore, 6, is covered in confetti after going on a toy shopping spree Thursday at the Wal-Mart SuperCenter on Briarcrest Drive in Bryan. Photo credit: Dave McDermand
"I think it's so awesome. I think the Wal-Mart and Nickelodeon Toy Run Family Style is so cool; it's so cool what they do," Siwa said about the event. "They give these kids literally $3,000 to get whatever toys they want at Wal-Mart. I just think it's so cool. It's so awesome. It's just amazing."
The 15-year-old star served as host, narrator and moderator of the event.
"Faith was adorable; she did a great job," Siwa said. "She got lots and lots and lots and lots of good toys."
Unwilling to pick just one, Faith said all of the toys are her favorite. She selected Baby Alive as the first thing she wanted to open, though, and before leaving the store had already tested out the Disney Princess Carriage.
After a few test runs at the store, Carol Moore said, her daughter's top toys going into the run were the LOL Surprise House and JoJo Siwa merchandise.
Faith was out of breath by the time she reached the end of the three minutes, but she said, "I got everything that I wanted." Her mom noted some of the toys will be shared.
Though the day-of run did not go quite according to the test runs, Carol Moore said, she is happy with how the experience unfolded.
"It was hectic, but we pulled it off," she said, calling it a blessing, adding that it couldn’t have happened at a better time.
“Blessing, a blessing. I’m just so happy, so excited. This has really helped us out for Christmas, especially her,” Moore told KBTX-TV.
After entering her daughter in the contest earlier in the year, Carol Moore was notified last month that Faith was selected as one of the grand prize winners and was given 24 hours to claim the prize. Then, she and Nickelodeon settled on Thursday as the big day.
“I got any email when it was over stating that I was one of the grand prize winners, and I was like, what? And I emailed them back just to make sure it was real and they were like you won!” said Moore.
"So happy, so excited," she said of the experience. "This is really helping us out for Christmas, especially for her."
In addition to the Toy Run, Faith's family also got a ride in a limousine to and from the store, received $500 in spending cash and will have all of the toys shipped to their home.
Ten first-place winners also received $500 gift cards.
Faith's selection as one of the three Toy Run grand prize winners brings national attention to Bryan-College Station, Briarcrest Walmart store manager Larry Beavers said.
The most fun, he said, was seeing Faith's reaction to the toys and her family's reaction.
"It was great, fantastic. That's what it's all about," he said.
Even though Faith had a pick of the store Thursday, Beavers assured shoppers there are still plenty of toys on the shelves.
Congrats Faith! :)
