Atlanta Falcons rookies visit pediatric patients

My favorite Falcons community events of the year. Rookies visiting children's decked out for the season. Olivia Whitmire has that story as we rise up for Atlanta. Brought to you by Truist. It's not every day you see a Penguin, Buzz Lightyear, or Mr. Incredible walk into Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. But those are just a few of the special visitors who made an appearance in the hospital hallways this week. It's been great to be able to give back and just be here with the kids. It means a lot to the kids, but it also means a lot to us. The Falcons rookies made the trip to Children's to help bring the spooky season spirit. The players got to dress up, play games, decorate pumpkins, and spend time with some of the hospital's patients, many of whom are battling cancer and blood disorders. A simple conversation can go a long way. You don't know how much that can impact somebody. Just me as a kid going through certain situations and experiences, somebody having a conversation with me that I look up to has stuck with me throughout my lifetime. So to be able to use my platform to do that is something that's pretty, pretty special. The trick-or-treating energy is a ton of fun, but of course the most important part of the day was building those connections with patients and their loved ones, a chance to bring a smile to someone's face and make a difference for families going through so much. That's what days like this are all about and what makes them so meaningful for this rookie class. One of the kids, he said, you know, there's like a YouTuber guy, his name's A.J. Green. He said he's been watching me since then. That was when I was in high school. So, you know, it's pretty cool just to see that, you know, my things that I've been doing throughout my life have been able to impact him. You know, he said it actually made him want to continue playing football. You know, so that's pretty cool to know that I may not have met him at a certain time, you know, when he did get impacted, but to know that we all connected now and that little impact that I had, you know, helped him want to continue going in his journey as well. So, that was pretty cool for me. You know, we grow up and we We really don't realize how much of an impact we have until we get here and see kids' reactions. So that's probably like seeing kids' reactions to seeing us and, you know, we're their superheroes. It just means a lot. Days like this serve as a reminder to the Falcons that just because they might not always be dressed up like a superhero, that's how many people view them. And no matter who the player is dressed up as, a superhero, one of the Teletubbies, or maybe even a favorite movie character, The goal stayed the same, to bring joy... To kids and families here in Atlanta and I think it's safe to say mission accomplished reporting in Atlanta. I'm Olivia Whitmire.