Wish Upon a Star Surprise
Date: December
21, 2001
Source: Atlanta
Journal-Constitution/backstreet.net
'Wish Upon a Star' surprise
Richard L. Eldredge - Staff
Santa got some celebrity assistance Thursday morning when some early Christmas presents were delivered to Riverside Elementary student Sarah Ussery.
Sarah was touring the studios of Star 94 with her Suwanee classmate Danielle Kowalewicz when Danielle was asked by Steve McCoy and Vikki Locke to read her "Wish Upon a Star" letter to listeners.
As rush-hour commuters blinked back tears, Danielle read how her friend (and mutual Backstreet Boys admirer) Sarah was having a tough time at home, where her mother is battling cancer and her stepdad, Steve Ussery, recently lost his job.
That's when local Backstreet Boy Brian Littrell and his wife, Leighanne, materialized in the studio with a stash of gifts to surprise Sarah and her family.
The Littrells have been listening to Star 94's "Wish Upon a Star" segments this month, in which local families in need are granted holiday wishes, and asked McCoy to keep them in mind. When Danielle's letter arrived, the Littrells sprang into action.
"My sister-in-law read me her [Danielle's] letter over the phone," Littrell said, "and she could barely get through it . . . . We just wanted to help."
In addition to autographed pictures and albums, the Littrells are paying the family's gas bill for the next year and circulating Ussery's resume at Coca-Cola.
"Their kindness just blew me away," Ussery told Buzz on Thursday afternoon. "Sarah doesn't get speechless too often."
The Littrells also have hired a photographer to take family snapshots of the Usserys this holiday season.