Denver Native (Carol)
03-06-2009, 03:55 PM
http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=334&storyID=8889
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Friday morning was a little different for a pair of Broncos.
Daniel Graham and Peyton Hillis hopped in a limo at around 7:00 a.m. and headed to... a school?
It may seem strange for a pair of professional football players to spend a morning during the offseason in the cafeteria at Samuels Elementary, but when 5th grade student Melanie Morales-Folgar won a contest as part of National School Breakfast Week, she won a chance to eat breakfast with the two Broncos.
National School Breakfast Week was established in 1989 to raise awareness about the availability of breakfast for students at school and to draw attention to the link between eating a good breakfast and cognitive growth.
Denver Public Schools celebrated the Week (March 2-6) across the district, and DPS held a contest for the best "breakfast superhero design." Melanie won the contest with her drawing of "Waffle Man," and she was presented with a framed version of her design at breakfast on Friday.
But the best part was that Graham and Hillis picked her and her family up at their home in a limo and drove them to school.
"It's really important to start the day off right, getting something in your system to get your brain working," Graham said.
The purpose of the program was to stress the importance for all students to eat a nutritious breakfast everyday and to raise awareness for DPS’ StartSmart program, offering free breakfast to every student regardless of their grade or financial need.
Bob Gorman, director of the program for DPS, talked about the direct link between eating breakfast and education.
"We started our StartSmart program in 2006, and at DPS it means that every student that goes to DPS has the opportunity to eat a free breakfast at school," Gorman said. "Students that eat breakfast every day have better attention spans, miss fewer days of school and generally do better on math and reading tests."
And having the Broncos show their support works to emphasize the importance of the program.
"This is excellent, to have the support of the Broncos, and have Daniel and Peyton come out and support us and help student achievement," Gorman said.
After arriving at the school with Melanie, Graham and Hillis went through the cafeteria line to pick up some breakfast. They sat at a table with Melanie and her brother, signing autographs and taking pictures with many of the kids in attendance. They both also spoke on the importance of starting the day off right and answered some questions from the students.
It was a special morning for Graham because he attended Samuels Elementary, though of course, things have changed a little since he last visited the school.
"It's a lot different -- everything looks a lot smaller now," Graham said with a laugh. "It has been a long time since I've been here, but it's fun coming back to my elementary school."
Back in Arkansas, Hillis never had a breakfast program like the one offered by DPS.
"When I was a kid, we didn't have things like this," Hillis said. "People didn't teach or tell us how important it was. And we certainly never had anyone come to our school to tell us we need to eat breakfast."
"As you get older, you start doing the right things, and you can tell how a healthy breakfast helps your body and helps your brain."
Click here for a photo gallery from the event.
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Friday morning was a little different for a pair of Broncos.
Daniel Graham and Peyton Hillis hopped in a limo at around 7:00 a.m. and headed to... a school?
It may seem strange for a pair of professional football players to spend a morning during the offseason in the cafeteria at Samuels Elementary, but when 5th grade student Melanie Morales-Folgar won a contest as part of National School Breakfast Week, she won a chance to eat breakfast with the two Broncos.
National School Breakfast Week was established in 1989 to raise awareness about the availability of breakfast for students at school and to draw attention to the link between eating a good breakfast and cognitive growth.
Denver Public Schools celebrated the Week (March 2-6) across the district, and DPS held a contest for the best "breakfast superhero design." Melanie won the contest with her drawing of "Waffle Man," and she was presented with a framed version of her design at breakfast on Friday.
But the best part was that Graham and Hillis picked her and her family up at their home in a limo and drove them to school.
"It's really important to start the day off right, getting something in your system to get your brain working," Graham said.
The purpose of the program was to stress the importance for all students to eat a nutritious breakfast everyday and to raise awareness for DPS’ StartSmart program, offering free breakfast to every student regardless of their grade or financial need.
Bob Gorman, director of the program for DPS, talked about the direct link between eating breakfast and education.
"We started our StartSmart program in 2006, and at DPS it means that every student that goes to DPS has the opportunity to eat a free breakfast at school," Gorman said. "Students that eat breakfast every day have better attention spans, miss fewer days of school and generally do better on math and reading tests."
And having the Broncos show their support works to emphasize the importance of the program.
"This is excellent, to have the support of the Broncos, and have Daniel and Peyton come out and support us and help student achievement," Gorman said.
After arriving at the school with Melanie, Graham and Hillis went through the cafeteria line to pick up some breakfast. They sat at a table with Melanie and her brother, signing autographs and taking pictures with many of the kids in attendance. They both also spoke on the importance of starting the day off right and answered some questions from the students.
It was a special morning for Graham because he attended Samuels Elementary, though of course, things have changed a little since he last visited the school.
"It's a lot different -- everything looks a lot smaller now," Graham said with a laugh. "It has been a long time since I've been here, but it's fun coming back to my elementary school."
Back in Arkansas, Hillis never had a breakfast program like the one offered by DPS.
"When I was a kid, we didn't have things like this," Hillis said. "People didn't teach or tell us how important it was. And we certainly never had anyone come to our school to tell us we need to eat breakfast."
"As you get older, you start doing the right things, and you can tell how a healthy breakfast helps your body and helps your brain."
Click here for a photo gallery from the event.