Miami Dolphins General Manager Dennis Hickey, RB Jay Ajayi, CB Tony Lippett, CB Bobby McCain and LB Zach Vigil, along with cheerleaders and mascot TD partnered with United Way and Special Olympics to host more than 100 students from Dade and Broward County Schools in a Hometown Huddle event.
“We’re blessed with the Miami Dolphins and our partnership with United Way and Special Olympics to be able to bring all the kids out here. We had them in our facility, got them running through the bags, catching footballs, diving onto bags. It’s a great time for them. It also encourages fitness. Play 60 is such a great concept and we’re just glad to be part of it,” Hickey said. “With the Dolphins – leading all the way up to our owner Stephen Ross – it’s part of our DNA. We always want to be part of the community and give back to the community. We’ve been blessed with where we’re at in professional football and we choose to use that platform to help, give back and to impact others.”
The kids in 1st-8th grade participated in several fitness-orientated stations and learned the benefits of hydration and staying physically active. The Hometown Huddle event helped spread the Miami Dolphins’ Dol-fit message of education, physical fitness and positive choices to elementary and middle school students of South Florida.
“Flag football is one our sports that is our unified sport – which means that all of the teams are comprised of athletes with or without intellectual disabilities. Today we have had our elementary school students here,” Special Olympics Florida Regional Director Linsey Smith said. “To be able to give them an opportunity like this where they can come out and get excited about the sport in general is great exposure.”
The Miami Dolphins Foundation also gave a $5,000 grant to the United Way.
“United Way has a special partnership with the Dolphins to invite these children out today to show them a little bit of fun and excitement about the game of football and really get to meet the players and practice on the field that the Dolphins that they see every weekend are playing on and having fun,” United Way of Broward County Vice President of Marketing & Communications Hattie Hess said.
