October 27, 2019 at 09:50PM
AVENTURA, FL — Miami Dolphins players and cheerleaders shared a little Halloween fun with local kids this week when they took over the Aventura Spirit Halloween store for a few hours to go costume shopping.
"I don't know, probably dressing up as a sports character," recalled No. 43 Andrew Van Ginkel of his favorite Halloween costume as a kid.
Van Ginkel told Patch his best memories of Halloween center around the treats.
"Honestly just getting a bucketful of candy and eating it the whole next week," he said.
"I love seeing the smiles on kids faces whenever they get presents or gifts," Van Ginkel added. "It brightens their day and just makes my day as well."
He and the other Dolphins gave up their day off to spread a little Halloween cheer with children from North Miami Elementary School in Miami-Dade and Coral Cove Elementary in Broward County.
"It's awesome just getting to see these kids all excited, basically a shopping spree," observed #85 Chris Myarick.
Myarick shared that he was trying to help a child named Joshua find the right accessories for a Michael Myers costume. He noted the kids seemed particularly excited when they came across Fortnite costumes in the store.
"It's all the craze today," he said. "They're going nuts over that. I'm sure they'll be out of stock by the end of this thing. They're all talking about that."
His favorite costume over the years: "I was Sherlock Holmes one year. That was a pretty good one," he said. "That was one of my more memorable ones."
Cheerleader Josie took a few of the girls shopping. She recalled dressing up as a cheerleader when she was growing up in New York.
"Yes. All the time. I loved to go out and pretend to be a cheerleader," she shared. "Now, it's like a dream come true."
The event was sponsored by Dade County Federal Credit Union, which gave the kids a lesson in finance in addition to a costume shopping spree with the Dolphins.
Mauricio Morales, a vice president with the credit union based in Doral, told Patch his best advice for children is to buy only things they can afford to buy twice.
"Be smart about the money. At the end of the day you have to make a wise financial decision in everything you do," he explained. "We teach them whether it's a want or a need. Having a roof over your house, that's really a need. You need to have that. Having a perfect costume, if you have the money go for it."
Van Ginkel and Myarick were joined by Davon Godchaux, Jonathan Ledbetter, Nik Needham and Isaiah Prince along with Dolphins mascot T.D. for the private shopping experience.
"When you walk in here and the kids are coming off the bus and they see us in these jerseys, we don't think it, but it's a big deal," observed Ledbetter, No. 98. "When you see kids that are that young, you have an impression on them. We are at a position where we impact people no matter what we do."
Selected by their school principals, the 50 children who went shopping with the Dolphins were between the ages of 5-8.
"This is a wonderful opportunity for my students that is both educational and fun," said North Miami Elementary School Principal Deborah Darbonne. "I am extremely grateful for this partnership."
The event was part of an ongoing series of the #DolphinsHuddlefor100 service projects for the NFL's 100th celebration ahead of Super Bowl LIV that will be played in Miami at Hard Rock Stadium.
Prince, No. 72, said he enjoyed helping a little girl find cat ears. "It's cool. It's good to give back to the kids and just have a good time with the community," Prince explained.
He's not sure how he will celebrate Halloween.
"Am I gonna dress up this year? Maybe," shared Prince, who is 6 feet 7 inches tall and 305 pounds. "Oh no. Probably not."
Ten-year-old Kenny from North Miami Elementary picked out a SWAT costume. He said he wants to be a policeman when he grows up.
"My favorite thing about Halloween is getting candies from people ... and bringing it to my family," he said. "We eat it together."
Nine-year-old Kanisha, a fourth grader at North Miami, picked out a scary cheerleader costume.
"It's called Scare Squad," she explained. "She's actually cute and I like her makeup."
Eight-year-old Kai picked out a killer clown outfit with one of the cheerleaders.
"It's kind of interesting," she said of her costume.
Nine-year-old Emmanuela got a unicorn costume.
"I'm obsessed with unicorns and I love unicorns so much," she explained. "I like their horn and the rainbow colors."
AVENTURA, FL — Miami Dolphins players and cheerleaders shared a little Halloween fun with local kids this week when they took over the Aventura Spirit Halloween store for a few hours to go costume shopping.
"I don't know, probably dressing up as a sports character," recalled No. 43 Andrew Van Ginkel of his favorite Halloween costume as a kid.
Van Ginkel told Patch his best memories of Halloween center around the treats.
"Honestly just getting a bucketful of candy and eating it the whole next week," he said.
"I love seeing the smiles on kids faces whenever they get presents or gifts," Van Ginkel added. "It brightens their day and just makes my day as well."
He and the other Dolphins gave up their day off to spread a little Halloween cheer with children from North Miami Elementary School in Miami-Dade and Coral Cove Elementary in Broward County.
"It's awesome just getting to see these kids all excited, basically a shopping spree," observed #85 Chris Myarick.
Myarick shared that he was trying to help a child named Joshua find the right accessories for a Michael Myers costume. He noted the kids seemed particularly excited when they came across Fortnite costumes in the store.
"It's all the craze today," he said. "They're going nuts over that. I'm sure they'll be out of stock by the end of this thing. They're all talking about that."
His favorite costume over the years: "I was Sherlock Holmes one year. That was a pretty good one," he said. "That was one of my more memorable ones."
Cheerleader Josie took a few of the girls shopping. She recalled dressing up as a cheerleader when she was growing up in New York.
"Yes. All the time. I loved to go out and pretend to be a cheerleader," she shared. "Now, it's like a dream come true."
The event was sponsored by Dade County Federal Credit Union, which gave the kids a lesson in finance in addition to a costume shopping spree with the Dolphins.
Mauricio Morales, a vice president with the credit union based in Doral, told Patch his best advice for children is to buy only things they can afford to buy twice.
"Be smart about the money. At the end of the day you have to make a wise financial decision in everything you do," he explained. "We teach them whether it's a want or a need. Having a roof over your house, that's really a need. You need to have that. Having a perfect costume, if you have the money go for it."
Van Ginkel and Myarick were joined by Davon Godchaux, Jonathan Ledbetter, Nik Needham and Isaiah Prince along with Dolphins mascot T.D. for the private shopping experience.
"When you walk in here and the kids are coming off the bus and they see us in these jerseys, we don't think it, but it's a big deal," observed Ledbetter, No. 98. "When you see kids that are that young, you have an impression on them. We are at a position where we impact people no matter what we do."
Selected by their school principals, the 50 children who went shopping with the Dolphins were between the ages of 5-8.
"This is a wonderful opportunity for my students that is both educational and fun," said North Miami Elementary School Principal Deborah Darbonne. "I am extremely grateful for this partnership."
The event was part of an ongoing series of the #DolphinsHuddlefor100 service projects for the NFL's 100th celebration ahead of Super Bowl LIV that will be played in Miami at Hard Rock Stadium.
Prince, No. 72, said he enjoyed helping a little girl find cat ears. "It's cool. It's good to give back to the kids and just have a good time with the community," Prince explained.
He's not sure how he will celebrate Halloween.
"Am I gonna dress up this year? Maybe," shared Prince, who is 6 feet 7 inches tall and 305 pounds. "Oh no. Probably not."
Ten-year-old Kenny from North Miami Elementary picked out a SWAT costume. He said he wants to be a policeman when he grows up.
"My favorite thing about Halloween is getting candies from people ... and bringing it to my family," he said. "We eat it together."
Nine-year-old Kanisha, a fourth grader at North Miami, picked out a scary cheerleader costume.
"It's called Scare Squad," she explained. "She's actually cute and I like her makeup."
Eight-year-old Kai picked out a killer clown outfit with one of the cheerleaders.
"It's kind of interesting," she said of her costume.
Nine-year-old Emmanuela got a unicorn costume.
"I'm obsessed with unicorns and I love unicorns so much," she explained. "I like their horn and the rainbow colors."