NASHVILLE, Tenn.— Titans safety Michael Griffin and running back Chris Johnson recently held separate shopping events to brighten the holidays for young people.
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| Click here for the slideshow from the shopping spree that Titans safety Michael Griffin hosted for young people. |
Griffin hosted students from Una Elementary School and Dupont-Hadley Middle School at the Nike store in Cool Springs. The young people were able to eat Papa John's pizza for dinner, have a question-and-answer session with the seven-year pro and shop with Griffin, who treated each child to $100 shopping spree.
"It's the season to be giving, especially in Nashville," Griffin said. "I've been here seven years and the city of Nashville has been great to me and supported me through my ups and downs. I was blessed growing up and it's another opportunity to be able to give back to the community."
Griffin was able to include his two children and his parents in third year that he's hosted the event.
Deborah Green, assistant principal at Una Elementary, said Griffin spends a significant amount of his free time volunteering and has been a guest speaker at the school. Green said she's continuously impressed by the character that Griffin exemplifies to the students.
One young lady said she was "dizzy" because of how excited and happy she was from attending the spree.
Titans Cheerleaders Ashley A., Evony, Jessica and Kristen joined Griffin at the shopping event. The cheerleaders and Griffin explained to the young people the importance of education during the Q & A. Griffin said he hopes it was an experience that will impact the young people now and later.
"They come up with the best questions," Griffin said. "Some of them are too young to know exactly what I do for a profession, but I know when I was that age in Austin, we had players from the University of Texas come speak to us, and then later on in life realizing you had that experience, it kind of makes you strive to reach your goals. Some may be too young right now, but when they grow up, I think this will help them strive to do well in school and go after good jobs."
Johnson held his event on Dec. 10. The running back signed cleats and posters and joined young people and their families on shopping sprees at a Walmart.
"This is my fifth year of doing it and it doesn't get old," Johnson said. "It's always exciting to do it, just to put a smile on their face. They love it. You get some kids that don't know what they want and take a long time, but you've just got to be patient with them."
