PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – As Pittsburgh Penguins fans are wishing for another Stanley Cup, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Children’s Home of Pittsburgh, and the Children’s Institute are hard at work for 30 young kids in our area.

The three organizations and the kids were at the Penguins’ practice Monday morning at the CONSOL Energy Center.

The young kids came out to watch their hockey heroes.

Colin Brown is 9-years-old and only has half of a heart. He’s already had three open heart surgeries and has a pacemaker.

“He can swim, and then there’s just days when you say ‘Hey, come over here and sit down for a little bit and take a break.’ Other than that, we’re really blessed,” Mark Brown said.

Make-A-Wish has had so many requests for the Penguins that Monday’s event has become an annual affair.

“Injuries, whatever, it doesn’t matter. They are consistently just a great group of guys and we’re just so appreciative. They have so much fun with the kids. They are just the best heroes to them. They really are,” Dana Antkowiak said.

In the middle of a playoff chase, the Penguins took some time out and, with the help of Iceberg and a clown, they made sure the kids understood that having fun is part of life.

“We never rode an elevator except to go to surgery. For a kid to ride an elevator, for a kid to do something fun and exciting — to see people ice skate, just the vocabulary and seeing other kids, it’s just amazing for the kids for today,” Kristine Napierkowski said.

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