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Football Giving Back to the Community
July 24, 2015 02:27 PM | Football
West Virginia University’s John Antonik (@JohnAntonik) wrote in his blog earlier this week when describing football Defensive Coordinator Tony Gibson’s gift to his hometown hospital - “Some people give with their head and some people give with their heart. West Virginia University defensive coordinator Tony Gibson recently did both.”
Well, it was the Mountaineer players turn to give back to their community this week.
On Wednesday night, a group of the WVU football team, led by WVU Associate Director of Student-Athlete Development Kelli Hinton, made the trip just past the far end of their home, Milan Puskar Stadium, to the Ronald McDonald House. The group fixed dinner for families, who were staying there, while family members were undergoing medical procedures at WVU Children’s Hospital.
Hinton’s group of part-time cooks, part-time encouragers and full-time football players included Isaiah Bruce (Sr., LB), Terrell Chestnut (Sr., CB), KJ Dillon (Sr., S), Rob Dowdy (Fr., OL), Dravon Henry (So., S), Karl Joseph (Sr., S), Kyle Rose (Sr., DL), Khairi Shariff (Jr., CB) and Dayron Wilson (Sr., S).
“The players did all the work themselves, and even made cards to brighten the families’ day as well,” Hinton said. “They cooked spaghetti and meat balls, garlic bread and salad. They also made chocolate chip cookies for the younger family members. I just assigned the tasks and made sure they were safe in the kitchen. They did all the work, and it turned out well.”
A majority of the families who stay at the Ronald McDonald House are from out of town. They have children in the hospital who have special treatment needs given to them by the WVU Children’s Hospital.
“It gave the West Virginia football players a good experience to give back to our community and people that are in unfortunate situations, having someone who has to stay in the hospital for several days or weeks,” said Rose. “It was good for us to give our time to them. We got a chance to cook dinner for them and spend time and that’s all they really wanted. It gave them the chance to get their minds from the unfortunate situation that they are going through right now. It was good to give back to them and give some of our time, and it was great experience overall.”
There are 16 overnight rooms at the Ronald McDonald House. The families come and go from the House and spend time with their children, while they are in the hospital.
“It was a great opportunity to go out and cook dinner and help out the families who are staying at the Ronald McDonald House with an unfortunate situation and put a smile on their face and make a difference,” Chestnut said. “That’s what it’s all about.”
Wearing the Old Gold and Blue brings a sense of responsibility to the community and the state of West Virginia and the Mountaineer football team takes this seriously.
“It means a lot to us to help out and do things for people in our community and in the state of West Virginia,” Chestnut added. “They are so involved in our lives and show us how much we mean to them, and we just want them to know that they mean a lot to us as well.”
On Wednesday night, a group of the WVU football team, led by WVU Associate Director of Student-Athlete Development Kelli Hinton, made the trip just past the far end of their home, Milan Puskar Stadium, to the Ronald McDonald House. The group fixed dinner for families, who were staying there, while family members were undergoing medical procedures at WVU Children’s Hospital.
Hinton’s group of part-time cooks, part-time encouragers and full-time football players included Isaiah Bruce (Sr., LB), Terrell Chestnut (Sr., CB), KJ Dillon (Sr., S), Rob Dowdy (Fr., OL), Dravon Henry (So., S), Karl Joseph (Sr., S), Kyle Rose (Sr., DL), Khairi Shariff (Jr., CB) and Dayron Wilson (Sr., S).
“The players did all the work themselves, and even made cards to brighten the families’ day as well,” Hinton said. “They cooked spaghetti and meat balls, garlic bread and salad. They also made chocolate chip cookies for the younger family members. I just assigned the tasks and made sure they were safe in the kitchen. They did all the work, and it turned out well.”
A majority of the families who stay at the Ronald McDonald House are from out of town. They have children in the hospital who have special treatment needs given to them by the WVU Children’s Hospital.
“It gave the West Virginia football players a good experience to give back to our community and people that are in unfortunate situations, having someone who has to stay in the hospital for several days or weeks,” said Rose. “It was good for us to give our time to them. We got a chance to cook dinner for them and spend time and that’s all they really wanted. It gave them the chance to get their minds from the unfortunate situation that they are going through right now. It was good to give back to them and give some of our time, and it was great experience overall.”
There are 16 overnight rooms at the Ronald McDonald House. The families come and go from the House and spend time with their children, while they are in the hospital.
“It was a great opportunity to go out and cook dinner and help out the families who are staying at the Ronald McDonald House with an unfortunate situation and put a smile on their face and make a difference,” Chestnut said. “That’s what it’s all about.”
Wearing the Old Gold and Blue brings a sense of responsibility to the community and the state of West Virginia and the Mountaineer football team takes this seriously.
“It means a lot to us to help out and do things for people in our community and in the state of West Virginia,” Chestnut added. “They are so involved in our lives and show us how much we mean to them, and we just want them to know that they mean a lot to us as well.”
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