Carly Rae Jepsen Goes on a Shopping Spree with Kids in Need

This week, Carly Rae Jepsen, a multi-platinum Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter, took to a different stage: In celebration of the holiday season, the “Call Me Maybe” singer joined JCPenney, in partnership with the Y, to spread joy to local communities across the country by hosting giving sprees throughout the month of December.

The Canadian performer, whose most recent album E*MO*TION earned rave reviews, kicked off the event by leading 50 underserved kids from a local Y on a private holiday shopping experience at the JCPenney in New York City’s Manhattan Mall.

“Which girl in the music business doesn’t enjoy a little shopping,” Jepsen, who recently starred as the iconic “Frenchy,” in Fox’s four-time Emmy-award winning musical Grease: Live, told Parade. “But, more, I feel that this time of year is a time to transition from thinking about what you’re getting and ‘is your stocking full’ to what you’re giving back.”

Over the course of the holiday season, JCPenney will host additional events with local Y’s in seven select markets, including Atlanta, Dallas, Denver and San Jose. The retailer will also be making a $100,000 donation to the Y, to help strengthen local communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.

“For me, Christmas has become a ceremony and celebration of what can I be doing to give back and what can I do to help make the holiday as special for others as it is for me,” Jepsen says. “That’s in line with my way of thinking and that’s why this partnership with JCPenney felt like the right fit.”

This is a message Jepsen thinks is extra important for children to hear.

“My parents were teachers in the community I grew up in,” she says. “I learned lots of lessons early on in giving back and supporting not just community but the kids in the community because that is our future.”

And, no matter where she is in the world, Jepsen always goes home for the holidays.

“My family has this really wacky tradition,” she says. “We go to this hotel a few days before Christmas and this shoo-wop group, the Jones Boys, plays classics like “Brown-Eyed Girl” and “Lady in Red”. All of my cousins, all of my family we go down and we take over the dance floor.”

This follows a traditional holiday feast at her dad’s house.

“We do the turkey with the stuffing and potatoes and everyone doesn’t want anything to change,” Jepsen says. “It’s been the exact same meal every year.”

The morning after: Christmas breakfast.

“We wake up and have all the bad things, like pancakes, bacon and eggs and egg nog in our coffee,” she says. “I haven’t missed one Christmas yet. It wouldn’t be Christmas without my family.”