UNC Athletes Make Dreams Come True
By Jessica Pruette

UNC athletes are helping to make dreams come true for the kids at the N.C. Children's Hospital. The service program Carolina Dreams is in its second year, thanks to the efforts and vision of senior lacrosse midfielder Dave Weery. The program, which partners student athletes with children being treated at the hospital, was created to help kids experience what life as a Tar Heel is really about.

A gymnastics meet was only one of four sporting events the children at the UNC Hospitals attended with varsity athletes. By the end of the year, they will have experienced some of the best Carolina has to offer in sports.

Weery says it's a day many of them will never forget. He says that the kids are the best part. Sometimes he says a kid comes and is shy at the beginning and won't want to talk to anybody, and by the end of the event they'll be out on the court at the basketball game waving to everybody, or talking to all the girls on the softball team. He thinks the transformation from when they first arrive to when they leave is amazing.

The athletes are more than happy to spend a day with the children, and many, like varsity soccer player Chris Litchford, find the kids' enthusiasm for life contagious and refreshing. He says the kids that come out love interacting with the athletes. They get to come out and see the events and the sports, and the best thing is that they’re so happy to be there.

In the eyes of the kids, the athletes are not only stars on the field, but in their hearts as well.