Bengals Players make an appearance at Dick's Sporting Goods store for Marvin Lewis Community Fund - Shop With A Pro Event 11/28/2016
This holiday season, the Bengals have been keeping busy both on and off the field. When not preparing the next football game on their schedule, the players have been spending time with projects in the community. As the Adam Jones' adage goes: "Love what you do, do what you love", and the players love giving back to the community that supports them on the football field:
The Andy & Jordan Dalton Foundation hosted its "Holiday Hearts" program on Thursday, Dec. 15. The foundation, along with its partner State Farm, treated ill and physically challenged children and their families to a night full of holiday cheer.
The event included dinner, a Build-a-Bear creating station, holiday treat-making and games with Andy and Jordan Dalton.* *
Shop with a Bengals at Meijer
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The Bengals teamed up with Meijer to host a holiday shopping event for children from the Boys and Girls Club. Children were paired with a player, who helped them shop for items on their Christmas list. Each child was given a gift card to purchase holiday presents for their families or things they may need themselves.
As a child, there's nothing like getting a new bike for Christmas, and Vontaze Burfict, Adam Jones, and Andrew Whitworth wanted to give that experience to 250 students at Lincoln Heights Elementary School. Although Lincoln Heights is the second smallest in the district, the school had brought in the second most amount of canned food as part of its "Fill the Truck" initiative.* *
The Bengals players wanted to give Lincoln Heights, a school where an estimated*98 to 99 percent of the children are on lunch assistance, a holiday to remember by surprising them with bikes. *
As Burfict put it:*"We could have just dropped off the bikes and said Merry Christmas, but we wanted to be here, meet them. Sign autographs. Give back to the kids. Give back to the community. We've got great fans here in Cincinnati." *
For the sixth year in a row the Marvin Lewis Community Fund surprised Cincinnati youth from its Learning is Cool Program to a holiday shopping event at Dick's Sporting Goods. A.J. Green, Michael Johnson, Carlos Dunlap, and Brandon LaFell took the students around the store after the kids arrived in limos. Each participant is selected by the Learning Is Cool representative in their district based on each individual's circumstance and situation. * *
This isn't the only time of year that the Bengals have been active in the community. Here are just a few of the many community highlights from throughout this past season:
-Bengals & MLCF's 2016 Challenge Course Construction for Hometown Huddle
-Bengals and U.S. Marine Corp team up for Toys for Tots Collection
-Dennard, Smith, and Roach distribute Thanksgiving Meals
-Carlos Dunlap's Foundation hosts Spa Day for Cancer Survivors
-Dunlap and Johnson team up for Back-to-School fun day * -MLCF's Learning Is Cool Academic Achievement Celebration*
