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University of Minnesota Athletics
Serving and Giving: Row the Boat Turkey Drive
11/22/2017 12:00:00 AM | Football
In one week the Gopher football team created, planned and executed the first ever "Row the Boat Turkey Drive."
The team's leadership council met with head coach P.J. Fleck and decided they wanted to do a turkey drive. From there every single player, coach and staff member on the team donated at least five dollars with 30 players donating even more of their own money to purchase turkeys.
"We'll continue to row the boat, we'll continue to change our best and we'll continue to teach these 17 to 22-year-old young men how to serve and give," Fleck said. "And not just do it, why you're doing it. Not only why you're doing it, but doing it better every single day."
The Gophers were able to help out over 200 families. They provided them bags filled with turkeys, mashed potatoes and stuffing and helped out seven organizations across Minneapolis and St. Paul: Nokomis Montasori, Boulder Options, Jeremiah Program, Ronald McDonald House, Turman Center, Hope Kids and Loaves & Fishes.
The "Row the Boat Turkey Drive" is just the latest example of the Gopher football team getting out into the community. During fall camp they held a diaper drive and a food drive and can routinely be found at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children's Hospital and other local organizations.
We caught up with a few of the players throughout the evening:
Justin Juenemann: "It means a lot. I am just glad we are able to come together and do this over the holiday season. We are so fortunate to not only come to a great university and get an education but also to play a sport that we all love. It is easy to take that for granted but some people do not have the opportunities that we have. Hopefully we are able to help them enjoy their Thanksgiving even more through this event. We just wanted to take part in it and to be able to contribute in providing families with what they needed. Some families don't have all the Thanksgiving food that we might have so we wanted to provide them with that great experience and opportunity.
Thomas Barber: Coach Fleck always talks about how the main focus in our culture is serving and giving. That's what we want to do. We want to be able to provide for people that may not have it the way we have it. Being able to give back is always a nice thing to do and puts things into perspective. It's always fun to be with teammates outside of football. Being able to give back is always fun. Just enjoying it with the seniors and everybody else is really fun.
Quinn Oseland: I think it's awesome. It's great to give back and we are all having fun doing it. We all knew that together we could get this done. We are close as a team and we have been able to develop a special chemistry throughout this year.
Winston DeLattiboudere: This is a beautiful thing. It is all about serving and giving. We are dancing out here to keep ourselves warm and are just enjoying each other's company. We each went around and collected money in order for us to gather this night together. Coach Fleck thought it was an elite idea. We started this year and are going to carry it out each year.
Some local media also stopped out to check out the event:
KSTP- Gophers Football Team Buys, Donates Turkeys to Those in Need
KARE 11- Gophers' Row the Boat Turkey Drive
Happy Thanksgiving from the Gopher football team!
The "Row the Boat Turkey Drive" is underway! #SkiUMah #RTB #ServingandGiving pic.twitter.com/LcY7MKJyN5
-- Minnesota Football (@GopherFootball) November 21, 2017
When the #Gophers talk about serving and giving, they mean it. The football team donated their own $$ to buy 200 turkeys. They're handing them out now to people in need. pic.twitter.com/ZeW8ZpMMqs
-- Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) November 21, 2017
.@GopherFootball players and coaches braving the cold to dole out turkeys and hot chocolate (plus #RowTheBoat tattoos) to a few deserving families in need outside of TCF Bank Stadium this evening. @kare11 pic.twitter.com/OqjNyba9x9
-- Brandon McCauley (@bpmccauley) November 21, 2017
What will the community be receiving from @GopherFootball this Thanksgiving?@w_d_iii tastefully explains what goes into the Turkey Drive: pic.twitter.com/f0MVB7BJGo
-- Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) November 22, 2017
Thanks Paul and Don for bringing the rig down to the turkey drive. Serving and giving is what it's all about. #RTB #SkiUMah pic.twitter.com/YcamDzCtOR
-- Gopher Equipment (@GopherFBEquip) November 22, 2017
