GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – We’re exactly one week away from Christmas Day, and on Wednesday, current and former Packers players helped spread holiday cheer throughout Northeast Wisconsin.
It’s all part of a larger initiative to give back to the community.
In Green Bay, a long line of fans wrapped around the lobby of Bellin Hospital as they eagerly stood in line to meet their favorite Packers players.
“It feels good, just to be out, you know what I’m saying? Just putting smiles on kids’ faces, the older people and all that. It feels really good,” Packers guard Elgton Jenkins said.
Jenkins, along with Chris Brooks and Eric Stokes, spent their afternoon signing autographs, taking pictures and spreading Christmas cheer to patients, their families and workers at the hospital.
“At the end of the day, you just want to see the smiles — especially where we’re at, at the hospital. People are going through different things, so just being there to put joy in their faces is one of the many things I strive to look for when I give back,” Jenkins said.
With the Packers playing Monday night next week, Wednesday was a day off for the team. Bellin Health was thrilled to host the green and gold, helping patients through their hardship.
“Some of them are going through some dark times, so it’s nice to come down and see a smiling Packers player and get an autograph and have some hot cocoa as well,” Bellin Hospital Marketing Specialist Joey Daniels said.
While current players were serving up smiles at Bellin Hospital in Green Bay, Packers legend Donald Driver helped families with food in Menasha. This initiative, called “Huddle Up for the Holidays”, is put on through the Donald Driver Foundation, which teamed up with Network Health.
“We just want to give people what we know [during] the holiday season we’re going to have, and we’re gonna have [the] opportunity to have a hot meal,” Driver said.
Network Health employees were hard at work decorating envelopes with gift certificates. With those, they will be used for turkey, ham and all the fixings for 100 families in need through area non-profits.
“It’s exciting because you know, I kind of tell people all the time, ‘You kind of live their life, right?’ And so you can understand what those families go through every single day,” Driver said.
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