University of Notre Dame Wide Receiver Beaux Collins joined UnitedHealthcare and AssuredPartners at Fieler Elementary School in Merrillville to hand out coats to over 400 students ahead of the upcoming winter season. This coat giveaway occurred as part of UnitedHealthcare's long-running partnership with Dreambuilders Foundation.
“Our mission at UnitedHealthcare is to help people live healthier lives, especially children,” said UnitedHealthcare of Illinois and Northwest Indiana Vice President of Sales Michael Telesky. “To be healthy, you need to be comfortable. You need to be warm; you can't be cold throughout the winter.”
Students from kindergarten through fourth grade were given the opportunity to try on a variety of winter coats and leave with one in their favorite colors. The names of students whose sizes were unavailable were taken so that UnitedHealthcare and AssuredPartners could deliver fitting coats at a later date.
Collins was chosen to help pass out coats because of his strong desire to support children in Northern Indiana.
“It feels amazing; it's really everything to me to come back and give to kids that look like me, who grew up like I did,” Collins said. “It feels great to come together, connect, and make these kids’ day. It's important for me to use the platform I have to come out here and just give back.”
Collins’ positive interactions with students was noticed by several staff members. Everything from hugs to jokes to assistance trying on coats helped Collins develop a rapport with the children, one that Principal LaFonda Morris hopes students will remember as they continue their academic journey.
“These students are absolutely looking up to Beaux,” Morris said. “A lot of kids never think about having the opportunity to come back to their community to give back, so he's a great example for our little kiddos. Hopefully, a lot of them will really look up to him and say, ‘I'm going to follow in his footsteps and I'm going to go to college.’”
Morris was incredibly grateful to see her students receiving the coats ahead of the cold winter in Northwest Indiana.
“I work bus duty, so I see the kids who actually come to school without a coat,” she said. “I know I don't have to worry about that this year because each child who walks by me should have on a coat thanks to UnitedHealthcare.”
This kind of community support wouldn’t be possible without the community relationships UnitedHealthcare has built across the country.
“We like to work with organizations and individuals that share our goals and interests, such as Beaux, Dreambuilders, and Merrillville Community Schools. What we’ve done today is to make sure students from this area and within Merrillville Schools are able to walk away with a new, warm coat,” Telesky said. “We love giving back to a community that we're honored to serve.”
“I want to highlight Fieler Elementary and UnitedHealthcare for having an event like this,” Collins added. “It means a lot to us players, and I know it means more to the kids.”
To learn more about UnitedHealthcare and the work it’s doing every day in your community, visit uhc.com.
