Dec. 16, 2007
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The holidays are a special time of year, and on Friday Vanderbilt student-athletes did their part to make this time of year even more special for students at Ross Elementary in East Nashville.
With 34 first and second graders in attendance, Vanderbilt’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) hosted its annual Holiday Party from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m in the basketball practice gym.
As the children walked into the gym, you could see their eyes light up with excitement as they looked at the student-athletes, who towered over them like giants.
Shortly after the children had sat down, they erupted in cheer when Santa Claus and an elf entered the gym, and proceeded to read `Twas The Night Before Christmas.
“It was a lot of fun,” said Adam Smotherman (football), who played Santa Claus. “The kids really had a good time.”
After the book was finished, Santa Claus presented each child with a bag of gifts.
For the next two hours, the student-athletes helped the kids open their presents, played games with them and ate pizza together.
“A lot of our children don’t really get a chance to enjoy Christmas and this is great for them,” said Jo Beene, a second grade teacher at Ross Elementary. “They’ve been looking forward to it. You can see them all smiling and laughing.”
In what can be a difficult time of year for many of the children in attendance, the Holiday Party provided many of the kids with what could be their only taste of Christmas.
“Sadly to say, this may be the only Christmas any of them really get,” Beene said. “It really means a lot for the kids to get to be able to do this.”
To ensure that each child was given proper attention, each of Vanderbilt’s teams were assigned a minimum of two children to interact with and purchase presents for. Some of the larger teams had more than two children.
One of the highlights of the Holiday Party was that each member of the team was responsible for contributing $5 to purchase the presents that the children requested.
“It is great to see the smiles on their faces,” said Festus Ezeli (men’s basketball), who spent the majority of time shooting baskets with a youngster. “It is a very heartwarming experience.”
Like Ezeli, senior women’s golfer Liebelei Lawrence was thrilled to see how happy the children were.
“I love it,” Lawrence said. “I love playing with them, interacting with them and watching them open presents.”
Freshman defensive lineman Bo Cramer, who dressed up like the elf, may have summed the day up best.
“This is what it is all about,” Cramer said. “We are real fortunate here and it is just nice to be able to give something back. It is a good time to be able to play with the kids and make them happy.”
