Published: Dec. 18, 2011
LANSING, Mich. - Football players and other athletes from Michigan State University recently spread some Spartan spirit among the young Patients and their families in the Sparrow Children's Center on Wednesday.
"Go Green!" cheered young Patient John Nguyen, as Keith Nichol, Fou Fonoti, and other MSU stars played Uno with him, signed autographs and posed for pictures in his room.
"When I saw an opportunity to do something like this, I had to jump on it," said Fonoti, an offensive right tackle for the Spartans. "Making people smile is just a blessing."
The children also received gifts from Meijer, which donated more than 800 shirts and other athletic gear to Sparrow, said Joy Wiseman, Director of Development for the Sparrow Foundation.
"We appreciate this generous donation, especially because of the huge impact on the Patients and their families," Wiseman said. "This lets them forget about the pokes and tests, and just have fun for a little while."
The DeWitt Post Office also donated boxes for transporting and storing the gifts.
For more than a century, Sparrow has been a leader in caring for children. The first hospital in mid-Michigan to offer a dedicated children's unit, Sparrow today is home to the region's only full-service pediatric emergency department. As the region's Children's Miracle Network hospital, Sparrow is able to provide families the most advanced technology and treatment options in pediatric and neonatal care.