PROVIDENCE, RI -- A trio of Patriots -- Matthew Slater, Dane Fletcher, and Kevin Faulk -- visited the Hasbro Children's Hospital on Thursday. The sentiment shared by all: they're happy to do it.
"The least we can do is come back and visit these kids and try and put a smile on their face," said Slater. "I know, myself and Dane, we're excited about coming out here and visiting with these kids. What they get through on an everyday basis is real life. They're going through some real struggles; hopefully we can give them a pick-me-up."
The kids were thrilled. One 15-year old boy, Brian, got some one-on-one time with his jersey-clad heroes in the Teen Center. Brian made sure plenty of photos were taken with his cell phone so he could post them on Facebook and show his friends.
"Was it a good one? Did it come out?" he asked.
It was a great shot. Brian held a signed football while Slater, Fletcher, and Faulk framed his wheelchair in the background. His joy lit up the room.
"Each and every one of these kids is unique and has their own unique situation; your heart can't help but go out to all of them," said Slater. "To be so long and have to deal with the issues they're dealing with they're courageous and it says a lot about their character.The time we get to spend with each of these kids is very special."
Fletcher quickly chimed in.
"The one thing I always take away from these children's hospitals they are going through a tough time," the linebacker said. "And they're hearing from all their buddies at school and their siblings, how fun it is, how exciting it is outside the hospital -- while they have to be in here. So our goal is to try and give them a little something they can fire back at their friends, and their family, and their siblings that they got a little something extra for being here."
After the room visits, the three players went down to the main building's cafeteria. Hasbro's eighth annual radiothon had the room abuzz and there was definite hope a few celebrity athletes would boost the fundraiser's efforts.
Each player shouldered the duty happily.
"I really feel like we have a responsibility as a professional athletes to give back to the community around us, especially something like this. We've been so blessed, beyond what most kids can go up dreaming, we've been able to live our dreams out and I feel like with that, we have responsibility to give back."