One of the most exciting parts about going back to school is getting new supplies.
That was the case for about 30 kids from East Boston's Salesian Boys & Girls Club on Monday, who got to watch the New England Patriots practice while doing so.
As part of its "Get Fit for School" initiative, Gatorade teamed up with the Patriots Foundation to support local youth getting ready for school to start.
The children were invited to watch training camp practice and received donated backpacks filled with school supplies that were hand-delivered by their favorite Patriots players.
"They were really pumped," said Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez who helped bring over backpacks, signed autographs, and posed for pictures with the children.
"I'm so happy we were able to do that. It always feels good giving back to our community."
Funds for the backpacks and school supplies were raised entirely by Adelante -- PepsiCo's Hispanic employee resource group. That aspect resonated with Gonzalez, a Colombian-American, and Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett was happy to ease the financial burden of New England families.
"A lot of what we do (as players) is to have the ability to give back and use this platform to do good in this world," Brissett said.
"This organization and our community department do a great job making sure that's one of our main priorities. Doing things like this is very rewarding."
