Days after talking with Johnson outside his doorstep in the midst of a season in turmoil, it was an opportunity for me to report on the positives the team is doing within a community.
There was one rule they conveyed to media members covering the event, no discussing the Johnson case.
Face-to-face with their favorite players
Bears, wives reach out to SEDOL students
December 20, 2006
By Jason Arndt
The News-Sun
GAGES LAKE - It isn't every day a child
gets to meet his dream athlete, but for special needs students at the
Special Education District of Lake County, it became a reality
Tuesday as they met three Chicago Bears. John Tait and his wife
Jeneva are honorary board members of SEDOL and helped organize the
holiday party for the students along with other Bears' wives.
"We are giving out gift cards this
year, thanks to Target, and we have goodies for the kids this year to
give to their parents as gifts," said Jeneva Tait. "The
kids don't have much of an opportunity to give gifts to their
parents, and with this they can. On top of that, the kids will be
getting autographs from the players."
"It is always fun to interact with
the kids and answer any questions they may have," said her
husband, offensive lineman John Tait.
The Taits were introduced to SEDOL
through the Bears organization when they arrived in Chicago from the
Kansas City Chiefs. John Tait was looking for an organization to
assist in the Chicago metro region.
"This organization helps a lot of
kids in the Lake County region, which is where I live now," he
said.
The Bears' Charles Tillman and Rasheid
Davis also attended the event with their wives to show support for
the children.
In addition to spending time with the
children, the players also read them holiday books with Hanukkah,
Christmas and Kwanzaa themes.
Tillman and his wife Jackie sat next to
one of his fans during lunch and talked to the child.
"I was kind of scared because I
had never met an NFL player before," said 11-year-old Nate,
wearing a No. 87 Muhsin Muhammed Bears' jersey. "It feels good
to have them with me today. Charles is my guy on defense."
Tillman read a Hanukkah-themed book to
the children in rotations with his two participating teammates.
"I am really looking forward to
doing this with the kids and be there for questions," he said.
The defensive back does plenty of
community service opportunities in the Chicago area.
"I usually do these community
service things in Chicago schools, so this is the first time I have
been at SEDOL," Tillman said. "The wives deserve all the
credit in putting this together."
The wives helped the children arrange
arts and crafts for their families.
"I just want to wish the wives
well in this because they are doing this out of the kindness of their
hearts," Charles Tillman said.
Jackie Tillman was impressed with the
turnout of children with around 100 in attendance.
"They are all excited and this is
what it is all about," she said.
Injured defensive back Mike Brown was
going to attend, but had a doctor's appointment, according to his
wife, Erin.
"All three guys have huge hearts
and they are always giving back to the community," said Erin
Brown. "They give as much as they can in the amount of time they
have during the season. Every child deserves attention, and it does
take time but it's worth it."
Wide receiver Rashied Davis supports
children and the value of education.
"I will do anything for the kids,
you know. I am a big fan of education, especially for the kids who
need a little extra help," said Davis, who has done projects
with children prior to joining the Bears when he was a member of an
Arena Football League team.
Marcus, a 15-year-old with SEDOL, was
working an arts activity with Davis' wife, Diana.
"It's shocking (to be face to face
with a player)," said Marcus. "It feels good to have them
reach out to us."
No comments:
Post a Comment