Leo and the Chicago Bears staged another festive get-together for the benefit of youngsters from the Auburn-Gresham community at Leo on Monday, Oct. 2.
With former Bear Garrett Wolfe in a leadership role, Bears Care conducted a “Mini-Monsters” clinic on the Leo practice field. Nearly 200 fourth- through eighth-grade students from a half-dozen area elementary schools, including St. Sabina, St. Ethelreda and Oglesby, took part in agility drills and passing target practice and received instruction in football fundamentals, with police officers from the neighboring 6th District and Leo Lions football players serving as instructors.
As Leo students roared their approval, Leo Principal Shaka Rawls put himself through the drills to show the youngsters how it’s done. “And I didn’t pull a single muscle,” Mr. Rawls pointed out, though he was huffing a bit.
Wolfe, a Northern Illinois University great who attended the now-defunct Holy Cross High School on the Northwest Side, spoke to the students about how essential it is to stay physically active and the importance of eating right. He urged them to set high goals and reminded them that the highest goals are achievable through education. At the conclusion of the session, Leo treated the kids to a pizza lunch.
“I don’t know that we’ve ever done a community-outreach project that produced more smiles, unless it was last year’s Christmas party,” Leo President Dan McGrath said. “The Christmas party was also a Bears Care event, which speaks to the value of our relationship with the Bears. They’re a first-class organization staffed by some terrific people.”