Student Carabins athletes visit young patients at Sainte-Justine’s

May 15, 2013

Thanks to the initiative and organizational skills of offensive lineman and BBA student Alexandre Laganière, some twenty Université de Montréal Carabins football players and cheerleaders visited Sainte-Justine hospital on May 9. Along with Alexandre, four other BBA students shared some of their energy and enthusiasm with dozens of young patients who were eagerly awaiting the visit: football players Anthony Chabot, Samuel Nadeau-Piuze and Félix Prévost and cheerleader Mélanie Trudelle.

“It’s something I’d been thinking about for a long time,” said Alexandre, who will be kicking off his third season with the team in August. “I’ve always enjoyed getting involved in things. I’m sure I’m not the first one to come up with the idea, but I was able to make it work with the help of the Carabins organization. It was easy to find players who wanted to come along, and I even had to select them by seniority, because there were too many volunteers.”

There was a draw for all kinds of prizes for the patients: tickets to games, footballs and helmets, and teddy bears sporting Carabins colours. Each of the youngsters also received some autographed pictures.

Alexandre hopes to develop this idea further with the help of the Carabins organization, and involve other UdeM teams. “We’re sending the message that our generation wants to pay it forward,” he says. “Carabins management is very open to the idea, and that’s encouraging. We had the chance to meet some truly inspiring young people. They’re full of energy and keep smiling even if they have to spend their days in the hospital.”

Congratulations to Alexandre for this initiative, and to all the other student athletes who took part!