A Bengal Christmas!

The students at my school received a wonderful surprise today. Cincinnati Bengals players Dre Kirkpatrick and AJ Green showed up at our school for a Christmas visit. The kids were thrilled. In addition to the visit, these two gentlemen most graciously and generously purchased a brand new bike for every student in our school. If you’re counting, that’s over 300 bikes.

A little background information… My boss is a close personal friend of Dre Kirkpatrick, and he has been to our school several times in the past. A few months ago he told my boss he wanted to buy Christmas gifts for all the kids. We had no idea he intended to buy something so expensive. Fast forward to last night… Some fellow teachers and I arrived at the school at 11:30 PM to meet a 53 foot tractor-trailer from Toys R’ Us to sneak 300 bikes into the school under the cloak of darkness. Two hours later our gymnasium was packed to the gills with bikes of all sizes and colors (see the photo below). I have to admit it was a lot of fun playing Santa Claus again since my kids quit believing so many years ago. I arrived home shortly before 2:00 A.M. and had a very short night’s sleep before waking up for work again this morning. Don’t feel sorry for me though… I totally volunteered for this job and it was completely my pleasure to do it. (and I would do it again in a heartbeat!)

Christmas came early to St. Bernard Elementary this year. Thank you Dre and AJ for making this a memorable and special Christmas for ALL our students. This is my 28th Christmas as a teacher and it’s not one I will soon forget. The Bengals may have had a forgettable season, but the acts of generosity of these two players are far from forgettable. Thanks, Guys!