From left, Dan Molls, Malcolm Riley and Mark Singer play Jenga with a patient at Toledo Children's Hospital.

Before their matchup in the Military Bowl against Air Force on Dec. 28, members of the UT football team traveled to the Toledo Children’s Hospital to help celebrate the holidays with sick children.

“It is an amazing opportunity and have a chance to give back to our community,” Toledo Head Coach Matt Campbell said. “It’s great for our players to be around these young guys who look up to them and make a difference in somebody’s life.”

“It’s very exciting to come out and give back to the community and these kids,” junior linebacker Dan Molls said. “Just looking at them and seeing them smile, it’s truly a blessing to be here.”

The Rockets distributed products to the children and signed autographs for all those who came into the room. They also toured the hospital, including the Intensive Care Unit, to meet with some of the kids.

“It’s humbling,” junior defensive end T.J. Fatinikun said. “We are all excited to be here because spending Christmas in a hospital isn’t the best situation to be in. Being able to be here to give them some gifts and presents, you never realize how such a small thing can be such an impact to a kid who is going through a lot. That’s just a great feeling to bring happiness to them in this time.”

UT head coach Matt Campbell chats with a patient at Toledo Children's Hospital.

The players also participated in games with some of the kids including playing catch, air hockey, battleship and checkers. Molls, defensive tackle Malcolm Riley and safety Mark Singer participated with a child in two highly competitive games of Jenga.

“Dan’s not the softest-handed guy on the team when it comes to Jenga,” senior safety Mark Singer said. “He was pretty aggressive and we used that against him. He left the loser twice. It was fun.”

“I kind of took it personally,” Molls said. “Me and some of the guys are going to have to get into another game and hopefully I can get some vengeance.”

For more photos from the event, visit our Facebook page.

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 17th, 2011 at 2:53 am and is filed under Charity, Rocket Football.
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