University of North Carolina Athletics
Football Team Shares The Holiday
December 11, 2009 | Football
Dec. 11, 2009
By Turner Walston, TarHeelBlue.com
Kayra Lewis was overwhelmed. Thursday afternoon, a pair of white vans pulled up to her home in Durham. Out of the van came football players, staff, and coaches' wives. And out of the van came Christmas. "This is amazing," Lewis repeated several times. "I feel speechless. Man, this is awesome."
This fall, Lewis moved her three children into a three-bedroom home (her husband is disabled). "As soon as I moved in, I lost my job," she said. "We have really had a struggling year," she said.
But thanks to Carolina football, her children will have presents to unwrap on Christmas morning. "I am really excited," Lewis said. "This is the most amazing thing I have ever seen. I have never seen this before from people I just don't know."
Players and coaches' wives participated in Share Your Christmas through the Durham County Department of Social Services that matches sponsors and families. Carolina's participation in the program dates back to 2000.
Thursday, the caravan made three stops to homes in Durham, delivering presents for 13 people. A week before the delivery, the group of players and wives gathered in Wal-Mart t. Each group was responsible for a family.
"This is a cute little Huffy," Casey Barth said, pointing to a bicycle.
"Casey's going to test-drive the bike for the five-year-old," Mike Ingersoll said. And he did. There was plenty of goofing off (Robert Quinn in a red cowboy hat, holding a plastic sword and riding atop a Razor scooter), but the players were mindful of what they were doing.
"Basically the entire team donates some of their per diem, and we raise the money to shop for families," Kennedy Tinsley said. "We spend our time to come out and buy things that are own their wish lists and then later on we'll deliver them to the families, so it's just a little fun."
And while the players might get lost in toys or electronics, the coaches' wives were there to keep them on task. "They're the captains of the group," Tinsley said, "So we just follow them and they tell us what to do."
The money raised allowed for about $150 to be spent on each person. Lowell Dyer and Ryan Taylor had it down to a science. Last year, they came to the registers a little off on their numbers. This time, pen and paper in hand, they tracked each expense as they moved through the departments. Their partner? Tammy Davis, the wife of their head coach.
"I try to have a good time," Dyer said. "It's something good, to give back a little bit, and it makes it a lot easier when you're having a good time. A lot of times the families that you go to, they're not going to have anything else to unwrap if not for what we're giving. Because of that, it makes you feel a lot better when you know that they're going to have something to open on Christmas morning."
"We have a good time," Tammy Davis said. "It is very rewarding. I think we overwhelmed some people last year, but it's fun. It's neat to see."
And so Thursday, Christmas came early for a few families in Durham. Kayra Lewis snapped pictures of everyone in the traveling party as two bicycles rolled into her living room. "Y'all are amazing," she said.
