Wednesday, October 7, 1998
Bruin players team up with kids in hospital
CHARITY: Football stars visit young patients in sick ward for
day of smoothies, hanging out
By Marisa Yamane
Daily Bruin Contributor
Eleven-year old Curtis Smith, a big fan of UCLA football, woke
up extra early Tuesday morning, excited that he was about to meet
his favorite players.
"I wanted to come here bad early this morning. I woke up at
nine, ready to come," said a bright-eyed Smith.
Five members of the Bruin’s starting line-up, including Heisman
Trophy candidate quarterback Cade McNown, paid a special visit to
the UCLA Children’s Hospital, hoping to cheer up the patients in
the pediatric ward.
"It’s great to see smiles on kids’ faces. They just light up a
room," McNown said.
Other team members present included wide-receiver Danny Farmer,
cornerbacks Ryan Roques and Tod McBride, and offensive lineman Andy
Meyers.
The players signed autographs and took pictures with the
children while chefs from Maui Beach Cafe in Westwood whipped up
refreshing fruit smoothies.
"It’s really rewarding because you know that you’re helping,
even in a very small way," McNown said.
For many of the children, a visit from the UCLA football players
gave them something to look forward to and was enough motivation to
get out of their rooms.
"We’ve got a couple of kids who have never gotten up and out of
bed, and they walked down here to see the players," Michael
Burgess, the director of child life at the children’s hospital,
said.
Watching Bruin football on television adds a little spice to
many of the children’s lives.
"There’s not a lot of other things for the kids to do all the
time in the hospital, though we try to keep them busy, and the
television is certainly something that they get involved with,"
Burgess said.
The smoothie party hosted by Maui Beach Cafe has been an ongoing
event at the children’s hospital for the past year, though this is
the first time the football team members joined in.
"Three or four weeks ago, the owner of Maui Beach Cafe, Jeff
Knight, said that he wanted to get the football players involved as
well and if there was some kind of way to combine the two events,"
Burgess said.
The event meant a lot not only to the children, but to the
football players as well.
"I love coming out here and putting a smile on their faces,"
Farmer said.
"I think it puts a smile on my face more than it puts it on
theirs."
After the noontime smoothie fest, the players visited some of
the children who were bedridden and unfortunately not able to show
up for the party.
Though this was a first-time visit to the children’s hospital
for the football players, it certainly won’t be their last.
"I’ll try and get up here again and visit these kids and see how
they’re progressing," McNown said.
MARY CIECEK
Members of the football team, including Tod McBride and Danny
Farmer, visited young patients at the UCLA Children’s Hospital.
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