Image courtesy of the New England Patriots
FOXBOROUGH – Ordinarily, most NFL players would head home our out to celebrate with friends or family after a big win that kept their team in first place.
Not Mack Hollins.
Last Sunday, after the Patriots handled the Browns relatively easily, Hollins wasn’t in a hurry to leave Foxborough. Quite the opposite, actually.
Hollins had 25 Special Olympics kids as his guests at the game. Following the victory, he took them all over to the Patriots Pro Shop, where each child had $200 to spend courtesy of Fanatics on whatever their hearts desired.
It was a small gesture for Hollins, but a meaningful one for the kids, providing a memory that will last a life time.
“Yeah, it was great. I’ve done that for – I think – the last four years, five years. I think this has been the best one,” Hollins said at his locker on Wednesday. “We just had such a great group, such a big group.. It means a lot to be able to bring those kids to a game and see how much fun they have and how much they enjoy it.
“I love getting to see them pregame and how much energy they have, it gets me going. It was great.”
Hollins has made sure that he’s making an impact on the community throughout his eight-year NFL career.
“I think everywhere I’ve been. I’ve been working with Special Olympics for a while and started bringing them to games about five years ago,” he said.
From celebrating a win over the Browns to picking out hats and whatever else the kids wanted during their special day, Hollins embraced every second of it.
“They got beanies, little chains and whatever their eyes wanted,” he said. “It was great to give that to them.”
It’s been well-documented that Hollins is a character on and off the field. If you ever need general life hacks, just follow his Instagram and other social media accounts.
He’ll also be walking into Gillette on game days barefoot even when the temperature continues to drop.
But, it’s also clear that Hollins has wanted to be a big part of the community since he joined the Patriots, something he believes strongly in with the platform he has.
“That’s been big everywhere I’ve gone. As I’ve gotten older – and even when I was younger – but, especially when I’m older, I’ve kind of seen how important the community is to the team and just in general. How much of an effect we have on the community and the other way around. You know, when the games are packed out or you’re walking in the street, people are ‘Go Pats!’ It matters the same way. Like, when we win, work on Monday isn’t as tough for everybody.
“So, I know if I can give back…and it’s not like it’s me crazy giving back, giving away months and months of my life…this one day was so special to them and they don’t even realize how special it was for me.
“I love it.”
Hollins was also part of the Halloween party for pediatric cancer patients at Gillette Stadium this week too. Another event he enjoyed just as much as the kids.
Mostly because it truly puts things in perspective.
“That was great, especially for kids that are really struggling going through cancer treatment and their families going through that,” said Hollins. “To be able to go back, see them smile, paint pumpkins, make cookies, that stuff’s great. It’s just so special to see how much light they can bring, even though they’re going through something 10-times harder than I could ever go through.
“I think the biggest thing is perspective. It’s putting things in perspective, like…oh you had a bad day at practice, well you’re not going to the hospital to get cancer treatment.
“Just the perspective of the whole thing is super important in general for people, but for myself it’s always about trying to have perspective.”
You’ll be seeing plenty more of Hollins out in the community the rest of the season too.
“I try to do like, a bigger Special Olympics event every month,” he added. “Whether I go somewhere…one of their practices or schools and then whenever Donna (Spigarolo) puts something together, the community side puts something together, I try to go whenever I can make it. They do a great job. Whether it’s veterans or whether it’s kids at the hospital, they do a great job.
“I try to show up when I can. On Tuesdays we get the time off, so why not go hang out with some kids? Go hang out with some veterans or whichever group it is.
“It’s important to me.”