February 2012 - The Huddle
By Matt Oatway, Jaeger Civic Intern
The Huddle is a program that pairs Dartmouth Varsity Athletic teams with patients at David's House. David's House, located on the DHMC campus, provides a home away from home for children and their families receiving treatment at DHMC. Many families have to travel from long distances to receive treatment at DHMC and David's House is the only option for some. Since opening in 1986, David's House has hosted over 10,000 families from 43 states and 21 countries.
The Huddle allows Dartmouth Varsity Athletic Teams to adopt a returning patient at David's House as an honorary teammate and a little brother or sister of the team. As part of the match, the team corresponds with their honorary member and his family, visits David's House when the patient is in town for treatment, and brings their little brother or sister to practices and contests. Although the program is still in its early stages, the Huddle has already matched five teams with patients at David's House. The Men's and Women's Lacrosse Teams, Men's and Women's Tennis Teams, and the Women's Track Team have all adopted little brothers and sisters through David's House.
While there is a long list of teams and patients who would like to be matched, the screening process is very rigorous. The teams that have been matched with patients have demonstrated an unmatched commitment to their little brother or sister at David's House and have ensured never to miss a visit, regardless of how busy their season or academic term becomes. This sort of commitment by the teams makes the program all the more valuable for the both the patients and the teams. Drew Tunney '12 and the Men's Lacrosse team adopted Michael as a little brother and honorary teammate: “The Huddle program has humbled many players on our team and spending time with Michael is something many of us look forward to”.
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