On Saturday, UAB football and Children's Harbor will celebrate their eighth anniversary of the “Champions for Our Children” partnership with the names of over 100 sick children on their jerseys.
Children's Harbor is a Birmingham-based non-profit dedicated to helping the families of seriously ill children. The partnership began in 2016 with then-UAB head coach Bill Clark, who took members of his team to volunteer at Children's Harbor.
In 2017, Clark decided to honor the children by putting their names on the jerseys instead of the players' names. Each child will receive their special jersey at the end of the UAB football season.
Although it is the eighth year of the partnership, Children’s Harbor is unveiling a first-of-its-kind mark for Champions for our Children, designed by Martin Advertising.
“Football is such a great game, but it’s even better when we play for something bigger than ourselves,” said UAB head coach Trent Dilfer.
Cat Outzen, Children’s Harbor’s chief executive officer added, “We’ve heard our game called ‘the greatest tradition in college football,’ and we couldn’t agree more. Our longstanding partnership with UAB Football hits at the core of our mission—these players are playing for something larger than themselves; they’re representing those that can’t play. Together, we're uplifting these young champions and showing them they have constant support, with the opportunity to build lasting relationships and friendships with the players.”
Brasfield & Gorrie is sponsoring Saturday's partnership. Four hundred tickets and parking passes were purchased for the patients' families to attend.
UAB has now honored over 800 Children's Harbor patients.
UAB football is set to host Tulsa this Saturday at Protective Stadium for homecoming. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email trent.baker@1819news.com.
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