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Shaquille O'Neal Likes to Surprise Fans with Gifts: 'I Got a Whole Lot of Money'

Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille O'Neal

Nick Agro/E! Entertainment/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

Shaquille O'Neal is still beloved by fans, even a decade after his retirement. So the NBA legend is always looking for ways to share the love.

"I try to make every day a meaningful moment for a fan, and especially a kid," O'Neal, 50, tells PEOPLE.

"My favorite thing to do is when I'm in Best Buy, Walmart, if I see a kid, get them something that I see he's looking at," O'Neal says before recalling specific recent examples. "Oh, like yesterday I saw a couple kids. I bought a couple bikes, a couple more scooters," he says with a smile.

And on the off chance that anyone would reject a gift from the Hall of Famer, O'Neal says he always gets parental approval beforehand. "Well, first I always tell them to ask their parents if they're going to take things from strangers," he explains. "You don't want kids to get used to having a stranger come up and say, 'Hey, I got a whole lot of money. Can I buy you something?' " O'Neal chuckles.

Related video: Shaquille O'Neal surprised elementary school with PS5s and Nintendos

Having those moments with fans is important to O'Neal, who happily recalls "another really meaningful" interaction that helped a Texas family finding a missing loved one. "There was a homeless lady in front of one of my favorite restaurants in Texas called Bigs," O'Neal says. "And I just gave her a plate of food and somebody recorded it and posted it."

O'Neal's good deed had a much greater impact than just feeding an unhoused woman, though. "Her sister had come in crying to the owner, saying, 'Oh, my god, we've been looking for her for six months. We couldn't find her. We didn't know if anything was wrong with her.' They tried to take her to get help. She didn't want to get help, so she's still out there, but at least her sister knows where she is. Her sister could bring her clothes and water or something. But, when I do stuff like that, I never record it," he says.

O'Neal, along with the Shaquille O'Neal Foundation, is keeping up his charitable ways as he prepares to host the non-profit's second annual fundraising gala in Las Vegas. Called The Event, it will take place on October 1 and features a star-studded lineup of performers, including Maren Morris, Maroon 5 and John Mulaney.

"I'm excited to announce the details for The Event," O'Neal tells PEOPLE. "This event is going to support the work that we do at the Shaquille O'Neal Foundation. Our main goal is to provide resources to kids in need, especially Las Vegas and Atlanta where I live at."

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The Shaquille O'Neal Foundation's mission is to create pathways for underserved youth to help them achieve their full potential. "It's all about kids, the resources that they made. I'm also part of our communities and schools, and we just do a lot," O'Neal says of his work with the foundation.

Concert tickets range from $50 to $250 and go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. PT on Friday, August 19 via AXS.com. The evening will also include a private cocktail reception, dinner and live auction followed by a public performance. Table sponsorships for the private event range from $10,000 to $75,000.

Additional details about The Event and ticket and table options can be found at shaqfoundation.org.