BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU student-athletes, coaches, trainers, spirit groups and Mike the Tiger gathered together Monday night in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center for the annual “Thanksgiving with the Tigers” event. The aroma filled the room as student athletes helped children from East Baton Rouge Parish schools make their plates while spreading Holiday cheer.
“It’s really good for the community, having some of the little kids meet the athletes,” LSU junior basketball player Keith Hornsby said. “Especially in this time, during Thanksgiving, it’s a time where everybody should be together.”
After the children got to enjoy the meal and pictures with some of their favorite LSU players and coaches, they got to take part in cheering on LSU’s women’s basketball team to an overtime victory against Jackson State.
“We kind of mashed Christmas and Thanksgiving together for these kids and families,” junior volleyball player and SAAC president Katie Lindelow said. “We get them some presents that they might have asked for for Christmas and have a Thanksgiving feast with them and we just hang out with them. It’s just fun to give them something that maybe they wouldn’t have a chance to get from their families.”
Jade Bryan, associate director for the Shaquille O’Neal Life Skills Program at the Cox Communications Academic Center for Student Athletes, was instrumental in planning this great time of community and outreach.
“We have 25 kids that we have adopted and welcomed to campus from the Big Buddy program,” Bryan said. “We are just here to have a really good time. We are looking forward to seeing them and then getting to enjoy the game with them is going to be a fun time. It’s all about giving back for the holidays and welcoming these kids to campus for a really fun event.”
TJ Ribs donated the majority of the food, including the turkeys, stuffing, gravy and carrot soufflé.
“We love to give back to the children in the Baton Rouge Community,” district manager Tood McKearn said. “Thanksgiving is one of the best times of the year to give the children in our area a helping hand. This is our way of making their day that much better.”
The Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes is a 54,000 square foot facility comprised of academic affairs, student affairs and an information technology teams, serving more than 530 student-athletes. The purpose is to provide an all-inclusive, student-centered support structure for all student-athletes from matriculation, through graduation and life beyond.