Pirates Visit Children's Hospital, Reading Center
September 19, 2003 | Football
The Pirates split up into a pair of buses and went to visit children in the Winston-Salem community. One group visited the Brenner Children's Hospital, while the other spent time at the Kennedy Learning Center.
At Brenner Children's Hospital, ECU players stopped by numerous rooms and chatted with several less fortunate children, including those who were undergoing chemotherapy.
"You don't realize how blessed you are until you come out here and see what you take for granted," said Pirate fullback Vonta Leach. "It means so much to these kids just to have someone come and visit them. They seemed very happy to see us and I know it made us feel good to do something valuable with our time."
Across town at the Kennedy Learning Center, players split up into teams of three and went inside the classrooms and talked about staying in school and doing your best in school, while answering a variety of questions. In addition to have their pictures taken and signing autographs for their new fans, some Pirates even brushed up on their math skills helping out one class with its daily arithmetic assignment.
"I really can't explain the feeling I get when I see the faces of these kids when we walk into the room," said senior offensive lineman Brian Rimpf. "I remember how much I looked up to athletes growing up and I now I'm so proud to be able to give back as one."
Winston-Salem native and ECU defensive end Damane Duckett echoed Rimpf's thoughts.
"This is where I'm from, so I want to give back to the community. When I was younger I looked up to athletes and a lot of what they said had an impact on me. I also think that these kids can relate to us and they understand the message that we're trying to send."
The Pirates are in town to take on the Demon Deacons at Groves Stadium Saturday night. Kick-off is slated for 6:30 p.m.
