Steelers' Villenueva Presents $10K Check At Banksville Elementary School
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Students at Pittsburgh Banksville Elementary had a special visitor today.
A very large member of the Pittsburgh Steelers helped present a very large check.
To say that Alejandro Villenueva is a big deal to kids - is a bit of an understatement.
"It helped me out a lot so I think I have a lot to speak about," Villenueva said.
The 6-foot-10-inch offensive lineman is also a captain in the United States Army Rangers.
He was at Banksville Elementary School Wednesday morning to present a $10,000 check for the "Fuel Up to Play 60" program.
It's a combined effort with the NFL and the Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association.
"I always get really excited, especially when you see the students and how they relate to a player and the healthy eating message, the physical activity message. It never gets old," Sharon Piano, of the Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association, said.
The money will fund a program at Banksville called "Fitness Fridays."
"We do exercise each Friday at their morning assembly, and they also decided they want to grow their own fruits and vegetables, so they are going to use it to create a garden and a little green space outside that they utilize and we are going to do some cooking classrooms in the curriculum," Principal David May said.
Thad Sturgeon milks about 130 head of cows on the family farm near Zelienople.
"It's great that we can partner with the dairy association and the NFL to help educate the young people and to educate all about where there food does come from," he said.
And Villanueva hopes to return the favor someone did for him when he was a kid.
"You see somebody out there that you might want to follow his path and he's saying the right things. He's telling you how to get there so it is a great reminder for kids that eating healthy and being able to exercise every single day is going to help them achieve their goals as well," he said.
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