A woman slowly pulled forward in a navy minivan, smiled at the sight of a pallet packed with red delicious apples and asked Tennessee wide receiver Braylon Staley a simple question.
“Are y’all really UT football players?” she asked.
He replied, “Yes, ma’am, we are. It’s so good to see you. Now let’s you get some apples.”
Staley, the reigning SEC Freshman of the Year, was among a busload of Tennessee football players who distributed food for the Second Harvest Bank at First Apostolic Church on May 29.
It was part of service day for the Vols, when players spread across Knoxville to do charity work at multiple sites.
Some players and coaches distributed food for Second Harvest. Others organized locker rooms and storage closets at the Boys and Girls Club in Montgomery Village, and then they played games with kids.
A third group did outdoor work for United Way of Greater Knoxville at South Knoxville Elementary. Players broke down greenhouses, built storage bins, did trash pickup and played with students on the playground.
Finally, a fourth bus of players arrived at Dolly Parton Children’s Hospital. They distributed candy and treats to nursing units and hospital staff. They did an outdoor craft activity with patients and visited kids throughout the hospital.
“As Tennessee football players, we’re extremely blessed with all the amenities that we get. We love giving back to a community that does so much for us,” said linebacker Jeremiah Telander, as he tossed a bag of onions into the bed of an elderly man’s truck.
“Not everyone is as blessed as we are, but we have the resources to give back. So it’s cool to see all these cars lined up here because it means we’re helping a lot of people.”
Tennessee football regularly holds service days. Most of the events aren’t publicized beforehand. People are simply surprised when they see a UT bus pull into the parking lot and Vols spill out of it.
“All season they support us,” Staley said. “On a day like this, we get to support them.”
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
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