Earlier this week, Chiefs LB Dee Ford visited two classrooms at Operation Breakthrough, a non-profit organization serving over 400 children daily from the Kansas City metro. Ford read 'Let's Go Chiefs!' to the classroom and had them cheering for the team.
"It means a lot to me to be able to interact with the youth of Kansas City, anyway that I can help influence them and make a difference in their lives is important to me," Ford noted. "I love being around these kids. They need a strong role model and I hope that I can be that role model for them."
On Tuesday Dee Ford visited Operation Breakthrough and read to some classes.
Although Ford is new to the Kansas City community, following minicamp he was excited to jump right in and begin making an impact.
"I want to make a connection with this community," Ford said. "I've heard how incredible they are and I've seen it firsthand at a couple of events so, I want to give back and start making a difference."
The students were ecstatic when Dee arrived, grinning from ear to ear and were hardly able to stay in their seats.
"All of the kids were so excited to see Dee and their eyes got huge when he walked in," Lindsay Stodden, teacher at Operation Breakthrough, explained. "Dee was incredible with these students. He let them participate, help turn the pages, got them cheering about the Chiefs; the kids were very excited. It shows these students that people care about them, that people want to spend time with them and that's really important for them."
The mission of Operation Breakthrough is to help children who are living in poverty develop to their fullest potential by providing them a safe, loving and educational environment. The Chiefs have worked with Operation Breakthrough for a number of years and continue to help support, donate and contribute to the organization.
"It's always such a blessing to have the Chiefs at Operation Breakthrough," Sister Berta, co-founder of Operation Breakthrough, said. "I think that the biggest thing is that they are able to show these kids what a male role model looks like. It helps these kids also realize that people care and that the Chiefs care about them. It's so good for our kids to have time with a Chiefs player and they'll talk about it for months. They love meeting these guys."
To find out how you can volunteer, or to donate to Operation Breakthrough, visit their website.
