Gamecocks Participate in Annual Pigskin Poets Event
July 29, 2016
About two dozen University of South Carolina football student-athletes, cheerleaders and Cocky took part in the annual Pigskin Poets community service program on Friday in conjunction with Richland Library.
This year’s event was held at the Drew Wellness Center, where the Gamecocks read books to several hundred elementary-aged school children and later signed autographs.
“This event is one of our favorites,” said senior kicker Elliott Fry. “You get to come out and interact with the kids. It’s really fun to get out in front of our fans. It kind of gets us going for the year. It’s fun to give back to the community. It’s important to get out and interact with the youth and the community. We like doing this.”
“It’s all about the kids,” noted senior linebacker T.J. Holloman. “Most of the time the focus is on us, but it’s great to come out here, show your face, and give back to the kids who support you so much. The loyalty of our fans is awesome. It’s a great experience to be out here with them.”
The Pigskin Poets event, now in its 20th-year, is part of Richland Library’s Summer Learning Challenge and reinforces the importance of setting and reaching goals in an effort to help reduce the effects of summer learning loss. Thousands of area children participate in the library’s summer reading program each year.
The Carolina football team will officially report for fall camp on Monday, August 1.
