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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Titans players Jordan Babineaux, Daniel Graham and Shaun Smith asked fans to step up to help with a special toy holiday effort – Teammates for Toys -- to benefit a pair of area charities.
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The players teamed up with Puckett's Restaurant & Grocery and asked Titans fans and Puckett's patrons to drop off a new, unwrapped toy at the downtown restaurant to benefit children in need this holiday season. The toys were collected and on Monday night, the players and Puckett's hosted a group of 115 guests from Project S.E.E. and the women & children of the YWCA for a special Christmas party and dinner.
The group was treated to a wonderful holiday meal provided by the restaurant. In addition, each child, with the help of Titans Cheerleaders Anna P., Brintely, and Jessica and the players, were escorted to a room full of toys to pick out their very own Christmas gift. The players heard a chorus of "Thank You" from the children, who were joyful and extremely grateful for the night.
They were also treated to a special performance by Sony Music recording artist Joanna Smith, who releases her debut album in 2012. Smith sang Christmas carols and a few of her original songs for the group.
Babineaux, Graham and Smith have been involved with holiday giving efforts throughout their NFL careers and they are continuing that spirit of giving in the Nashville community.
"Nashville is now our home," said Babineaux. "We all want to give back to the city where we live and to the community that supports us each Sunday. We are all blessed and we want to share those blessings with others."
Toy donors also had the opportunity to enter into a drawing to win one of three pairs of tickets to the Titans-Jaguars game on Christmas Eve, courtesy of the three players. Chris Butler, Jeff Hillis and Kim Williams were toy donors and winners of the Titans tickets.
"At Puckett's, we always love making Christmas special for children in our local community," said Puckett's owners Andy and Jan Marshall. "What better way to help than providing toys for children at our local YWCA and Project SEE. It is an honor to join forces with these big-hearted Titan players for this holiday effort. We hope that our downtown Nashville community joins us all to help children right in our area."
For more information about Project S.E.E., call 615-742-8905. For more information about the YWCA, please visit www.ywcanashville.com.
