Fresno State Athletics
Bulldog football visits Valley Children’s Hospital
12/18/2017 6:00:00 PM | Football
FRESNO, Calif. – One day prior to departing for the 2017 Hawai'i Bowl, the Fresno State football team paused its preparations to spread some holiday cheer at Valley Children's Hospital in Madera, Calif. on Monday.
"It's a great experience for the players to get to come visit the children at Valley Children's Hospital, to try to brighten these kids' day who are battling," said head coach Jeff Tedford. "We don't get to do things like this very often so it's a great opportunity for our players to give back to the community, which is very important to us."
Located approximately 10 miles north of Fresno State's campus, Fresno State is a longtime partner of Valley Children's Healthcare – one of the largest pediatric healthcare networks in the country and the only children's hospital in the entire Central Valley.
Valley Children's Healthcare sponsors the Kid Captain of the Game at each football home game, a duty senior captain Aaron Mitchell relished this season, "To see the smiles on those kid's faces before every game was second-to-none. I really enjoyed that part of the game, and that role as a captain."
Fresno State also acts as one of Valley Children's biggest fundraisers during their annual Kids Day event while other groups and teams within the University also visit frequently and donate time, money and gifts to Valley Children's patients and families year-round.
"There's no better way to give back to this community than here at Valley Children's Hospital," Tedford added. "We got to do this during the holiday season of giving, right before our bowl game, which was great for our players. This experience also helps our players realize how fortunate they are to be able to play football. They are having a great time visiting with the kids today and it's great to see them bring smiles to the kids' faces, and to see the kids' bring smiles to the players' faces."
The Bulldogs depart for Hawai'i on Tuesday, stay tuned to GoBulldogs.com for daily updates.
"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" – The Bulldog Scholarship Fund gives Bulldog alumni, fans and friends the opportunity to support Fresno State Athletics and the student-athletes who inspire them. For information about how you can support the Bulldog Scholarship Fund, please visit www.bulldogscholarshipfund.com or call 559-278-7160
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