MADERA, Calif. – The Fresno State men’s basketball team stepped off the court Friday to bring smiles to young patients at Valley Children’s Hospital, delivering stuffed animals collected during the team’s annual “teddy bear toss” game.
Players and coaches rolled wagons filled with plush toys through hospital halls, stopping at patient rooms to offer children their choice of a stuffed animal.
“I really think it’s special for our players to see these young kids and the struggles they go through, and help put a smile on their face,” Head Coach Vance Walberg said. “I think it means an awful lot.”
Players paused to take pictures and talk hoops with patients and staff, wishing everyone happy holidays as they made their way from room to room. Patients lit up when they saw the wide selection of stuffed animals, while players and coaches encouraged them to pick out their favorites to keep.
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Freshman center Wilson Jacques, who hails from France, said the experience was humbling.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Jacques said. “Doing a little thing like this and giving them smiles, it’s really unbelievable.”
Walberg said the visit was as rewarding for the team as it was for the patients.
“When I see their smile, it gives me a bigger smile,” he said. “It’s phenomenal.”
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