Bert Faibish
Ticats.ca

HAMILTON -- Of the 21,408 fans that took in Friday night’s game against Winnipeg, 300 were there as special guests of quarterback Kevin Glenn.

Glenn hosted 300 kids who have been attending camp all week as part of the Tim Horton Children’s Foundation, purchasing their tickets and meeting them on the field after the game for autographs and pictures.

“Just for these kids to have an opportunity to mix with a world class athlete like Kevin, what a class act Kevin is and how he delivers his message to kids,” said Tim Horton Children's Foundation representative John Malcolmson.

“This is the first football game many of these kids have ever been to.  It’s an amazing opportunity,” he added.

As scores of kids swarmed around Kevin, it was hard to remember that just minutes ago he had finished a hard-fought, physical football game.   By the smile on his face you never could have guessed the number of hits he had just taken.

It’s a far different experience when you are able to meet the recipients of your donations face-to-face.

“You get the chance to see the reaction of the kids when you get to meet them in person,” said Glenn.  “Lots of guys on the team do this sort of thing.. Otis and I did that program last year with the union workers but we never actually got to meet them.  You don’t usually have a chance to have that physical interaction with them,” he added.

Having a chance to introduce some of the kids to a football game for the first time is obviously something that is close to Kevin’s heart.

“That’s one of the things that, when they brought the program to me, that was one of the biggest things,” said Glenn.

“Not just because it was Tim Hortons but because it was giving a kid a chance to do something that they might not get a chance to experience,” he said.