BATON ROUGE, La. – Thanksgiving is a special time of the year when people show thanks through giving back to others. LSU student-athletes went the extra mile Saturday, November 21 during “Thanksgiving with the Tigers,” an event to show the community how much they appreciate all the love and support it provides.
The event took place at noon in the practice gym of the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, and is an annual Christmas-themed community engagement initiative where each team adopts a child through the Big Buddy program for Christmas, and provides him or her with Christmas presents.
Many children came with their parents expecting an evening full of joy. The children spent time playing a variety of games with the student-athletes, including basketball, volleyball, and even tag.
“We’re enjoying the basketball, food, and cheerleaders and just looking forward to a good event,” said Brittney Fobbs.
Community members found the event pleasant, and thought that it was a nice gesture of the LSU athletic program.
“I’m happy they are doing such a program, and that LSU students and faculty are participating in this,” said Odigwe Mokogwu. “I think this is a good program for the kids. I expect to see the kids go home with a reasonable gift, but more important with a sense of knowing that people care about them, and they can achieve things with hard work.”
Big smiles filled the gym everywhere, from the children and the student-athletes alike. A lot of the student-athletes seemed to be enjoying the event just as much as the children.
“I’m just glad to be here and I’m excited for the holiday season,” said Raigyne Moncrief, LSU women’s basketball player. “We just want to wish Happy Holidays to everybody!”
Coaches also enjoyed the event. A few of them stood around smiling, while watching their teams interact with the children.
“I think this is one the events we look forward to every year, especially the tennis team because you get to have a lot of interaction with people in the community,” said coach Julia Sell. “Every year we get to meet a great youngster, who opens a ton of presents and smiles, and I think just for us to be able to give back, and see how much it lights up their day for just a few hours means the world to our team and department.”
After the event, participants and student-athletes attended the women’s basketball game to watch the Lady Tigers take on Long Beach St, cheering the Lady Tigers on to a 59-53 victory.
The Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes is a 54,000 square foot facility comprised of an academic affairs, student affairs and an information technology team, 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.