On Aug. 21, ETSU Athletics partnered with five Food City locations around the region to host the first annual Bucs for Kids, a community service project aimed to raise money for the Niswonger Children’s Hospital in Johnson City, TN.

“ETSU Athletics is thrilled to support Niswonger Children’s Hospital through the ‘Bucs for Kids’ community service project,” said Scott Carter. Carter graduated from ETSU in 2002 and has been the director of ETSU Athletics since October 2017. “Our friends at Food City always go above and beyond for this region and we are honored to partner with them for this wonderful project.”

The Bucs for Kids event featured appearances by members of the football team, basketball team, volleyball team, cheerleading squad, dance team, athletic coaches and even Bucky the Buccaneer himself. Student athletes and coaching staff helped bag groceries, collect donations and greet Buccaneer fans as they shopped around the store.

Shoppers at Food City locations in Johnson City, Jonesborough and Gray were asked by cashiers if they would like to donate to the cause when they made their weekend grocery purchases at checkout. While it is not yet known how much was raised, Carter relayed that 100% of proceeds from the event were donated to the Niswonger Children’s Hospital.

“We take a lot of pride in this. Service is one of the three main pillars, along with academic success and certainly athletic success, that we pride ourselves on every single day,” said Carter. “We’re really excited for the engagement of our student-athletes, our coaches and our entire staff.”

In addition to getting to meet student athletes and coaching staff, participants were able to take photos with Bucky the Buccaneer, receive a Buccaneer Football schedule poster and have the opportunity to purchase tickets for the upcoming football season.

Niswonger Children’s Hospital is an extension of the Johnson City Medical Center and was founded in 1992. It serves more than 200,000 children in the region each year. While this is the first time it has hosted the Bucs for Kids event, the staff of both East Tennessee State University and Niswonger Children’s Hospital hopes it will not be the last.

“We’re really looking forward to getting people involved and making donations for Niswonger Children’s Hospital, which is one of the greatest causes there could possibly be,” said Carter. “I’m so proud to be partnered with them and be a part of this wonderful event.”

Bucky stands alongside student athletes at “Bucs for Kids” event.
(Nikki Chambers/East Tennessean)

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