Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest Volleyball Visits Brenner Children's Hospital
3/30/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
March 30, 2010
WINSTON-SALEM, NC - On Friday, March 26, members of the Wake Forest volleyball team visited the Brenner Children's Hospital and lifted the spirits of a number of young kids.
A group of players walked the halls of the teenage ward, visiting room-to-room and handing out signed posters and beach balls. Another group hung out with a group of kids in a playroom, playing basketball, Nintendo Wii and doing arts and crafts. In all, the group spent almost four hours with the kids.
Below are some of the player's reactions:
Rising-senior Lauren McIntyre
On the overall experience...
"It was really fun. It was neat to work with the kids and talk to them and let them take their minds off whatever they were going through for a little bit. It was just fun to joke around with them."
On her favorite part of the visit...
"Just joking around with kids and getting to know them. When we're here on campus, we're kind of in our own little bubble and we don't get to meet or interact with people that are that much younger than us. It was a lot of fun just to hang out with them.
Rising senior Kelsey Jones
On the experience...
"I thought it was an awesome experience. It was something we had been wanting to do for awhile. I like playing with little kids and helping them out. It seems really minor to us but it was something major to them."
"One of the boys, Cody, just lit up when we got in his room. His mom told us he was excited all day after she told him we we're coming. He had been down and not feeling well but when we were there, he had a smile on his face and wanted to get out of bed. That was so much fun to see."
On being with the kids in the playroom...
"There was a little three year old in the playroom that was just full of energy. He would be drawing one minute and then jump right over and wanted to play with the ball the next. Then there were a couple of kids that had their IVs hooked-up and they were still playing basketball and dunking the ball. You couldn't even tell anything was affecting these kids. It was just so much fun to hang out and play with them. 
Rising sophomore Andrea Beck
On the experience of going to the Children's Hospital...
"It was really great. I had never really been in a situation like that before, hanging out with little kids in the hospital. We got to hang out and got to be ourselves with them. After a while, we all felt pretty comfortable just hanging out with them. The kids were so adorable. They had their siblings there running around with them and they were all pretty energetic. The best part was just being able to play games with them and see how happy it made them."
The volleyball program would like to make their visits to the hospital a more regular occurrence.
"Everyone had such a great time that I think we're going to try to go back at least once a month," said Wake Forest head coach Heather Kahl Holmes. "It looked like the kids really enjoyed us being there and I know it made an impact on the players' lives as well."
Visits to Brenner Children's Hospital are just one of the many ways the Deacon volleyball program is giving back to the community. Earlier this winter, members of the team participated in Campus Kitchen where they delivered prepared meals to needy families. Two of the places the team visited was Grey's Cottage and My Aunt's House.
On April 8, the volleyball program will join other groups from around campus to participate in Project D.E.S.K. Now in its seventh year, the Discovering Education through Student Knowledge (D.E.S.K.) is an event which helps elementary students design and decorate their own personal desks.
