Vikings receiver Robert Ferguson and teammates Charles Gordon, Chris Kluwe, Garrett Mills, John Sullivan and Albert Young, along with members of the Vikings Athletic Training Staff and Viktor the Vikings, visited Catholic Charities’ St. Joseph’s Home for Children on Tuesday to hold an American Heart Association “What Moves U” assembly.
The event promoted health and wellness as a lead-up to the Nickelodeon TV network’s
“World Wide Day of Play,” which encourages kids to be active. Also, Ferguson made a $1,000 contribution to St. Joseph’s Home for Children through his Robert Ferguson Foundation
To begin the event, Vikings Executive Director of Community Relations/Youth Football Brad Madson gathered the children around the Vikings players and trainers. Madson then introduced the players and trainers and allowed them to share with the kids their favorite non-football activities. Each of the players and trainers delivered a positive message about staying active.
After the brief assembly, approximately 65 kids from St. Joe’s participated in five different drills led by Vikings players. Kids worked on their pass catching skills with Ferguson and Mills, practiced handoffs and touchdown dances with Gordon and Young and worked on agility drills with Kluwe and Sullivan.
The event’s focus on activity fits perfectly with the Vikings commitment to health and fitness and the team’s support of Nickelodeon’s “World Wide Day of Play,” which will take place on Saturday, September 27. Nickelodeon goes dark all day on September 27 to encourage kids to be active – a message the Vikings and the NFL fully support.
The “World Wide Day of Play” is an effort that meshes well with NFL Play 60: The NFL Movement for an Active Generation, aimed at getting children active for at least 60 minutes a day.
“Coming out and working with these kids is great,” Gordon said. “We truly enjoy it just as much as the kids do.”
This year, Vikings Certified Head Athletic Trainer Eric Sugarman and his staff will participate in support of the Ed Block Courage Award Foundation. St. Joseph’s Home for Children is recognized by the NFL’s Ed Block Courage Award Foundation as serving as a “Courage House” for the Minnesota Vikings. The Ed Block Courage Award Foundation is dedicated to heightening awareness of the plight of abused and neglected children. St. Joe’s provides shelter and intake services for Hennepin County children removed from their homes due to abuse or instability.
“When these kids go to bed at night, they tend to think about one of two things,” Mary Schoelch, St. Joe’s Volunteer Coordinator said. “They either think about the sadness that has brought them to us or they will think about one of the day’s events. Because the Vikings so generously offered their time today, the kids will go to bed tonight thinking about the great play they made during the drills or the high five they got from a Viking.
“To have someone with the stature of a professional football player come in here and acknowledge these kids is tremendous. It’s self-esteem boosting for our kids and it’s something they will remember for the rest of their lives.”
Since 1998, the Vikings have partnered with Catholic Charities’ St. Joseph’s Home for Children on numerous community events including the United Way Hometown Huddle, reading pizza parties, youth football clinics and pickup basketball games. The Catholic Charities program annually assists more than 2,000 children in crisis (infants through age 19) by addressing immediate needs for shelter and stability and offering long-term solutions to emotional and behavioral issues.