FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - The Miami Dolphins took action this weekend to help senior citizens in South Florida who are living in poverty.
The football team teamed up with the AARP Foundation for the 5th Annual Million Meal Pack. The event took place Sunday at the Rick Case Arena at Nova Southeastern University in Davie.
Dolphins players and volunteers came together to package a million meals to be distributed to elderly residents across South Florida.
The team’s main message here is that they’re committed to just what happens on the field.
“We’re about making good happen in the community, and occasionally we’ll take a step back, like today,” said Jennifer Jehn, executive director of the Miami Dolphins Foundation, “and see all the volunteers who are coming out and fully engaged and working in their community and making an impact by partnering up with us at the Miami Dolphins Foundation.”
We did it, hunger heroes! Today, we packed one million meals to help feed hungry older adults in the Miami area. Thank you @MiamiDolpins for being our partner to #EndHunger! pic.twitter.com/f3MxA5RgWY
— AARP Foundation (@AARPFoundation) April 29, 2018
Keeping with the “team” theme, volunteers worked together to prepare a jambalaya dish. Each member of the team added an ingredient and one member sealed up the entire package.
“What happens with one million meals? I can tell you they will be distributed quickly,” said Lisa Marsh Ryerson, president of the AARP Foundation, “and so we’re partnering with a variety of food banks: Feeding South Florida, Joseph’s Storehouse and San Bernardino Food Bank as well. They stay right here feeding older adults in need.”
Once the meals are all packed up, they’ll be distributed across South Florida to fight senior hunger.
Those who participated said it’s a humbling experience.
“We’ve been in the community since the day I got here,” said Dolphins offensive tackle Ja’Wuan James. “I remember in 2014 we built a house in my first week here, and now five years later we’re doing this meal packing every year. It’s pretty cool.”
The result at the end of the day: almost 1,020,000 meals packed and put away to help fight hunger in South Florida.
After the meal packing was done, volunteers were invited to take part in a community fair as a thank you for their service. It featured live music, football activities, performances by the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders and chances to win prizes.
Participants were also able to learn about additional volunteer opportunities to continue the fight against hunger.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.