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Nick Saban back in Bryant Denny Stadium to give away $625k to local charities

Nick Saban back in Bryant Denny Stadium to give away $625k to local charities
NICK SABAN RETURNING TO BRYANT-DENNY STADIUM TODAY. BUT THIS TIME HE WAS NOT THERE FOR FOOTBALL. YEAH THE NICK鈥橲 KIDS FOUNDATION HELD ITS ANNUAL GIVEAWAY LUNCHEON. 米兰体育 13 S ZOE BLAIR WENT TO THE EVENT TO SEE WHO THE MONEY WILL BENEFIT. IT鈥橲 ALWAYS BEEN ALL ABOUT THE KIDS. THE NEXT KIDS FOUNDATION GAVE OVER $625,000 TO LOCAL CHARITIES AT THEIR ANNUAL GIVEAWAY LUNCHEON. THE MONEY WILL GO TO ORGANIZATIONS FOCUSED ON GIVING BACK TO CHILDREN AND FAMILIES LIKE MITCHELL鈥橲 PLACE, MITCHELL鈥橲 PLACE HAS BEEN JUST ENORMOUS FOR HIS DEVELOPMENT AND EVERYTHING. COLEMAN WAS DIAGNOSED WITH AUTISM A LITTLE BEFORE THREE YEARS OLD, AND WHEN HE STARTED MITCHELL鈥橲 PLACE, HE STARTED IN AUGUST OF THAT YEAR, AND HE MAY HAVE SAID TWO WORDS AND WASN鈥橳 EVEN TRYING TO SAY ANYTHING MORE THAN THAT. WITHIN SIX MONTHS, HE WAS PIECING WORDS TOGETHER, CREATING HIS OWN SENTENCES. IT鈥橲 DEVELOPMENTALLY, IT鈥橲 BEEN JUST WONDERFUL FOR HIM AND HIS DIAGNOSIS. THE MONEY WILL ALSO BENEFIT CHILDREN鈥橲 OF ALABAMA. CHANDLER BIBB WITH THE HOSPITAL, SAYS SHE NEVER REALIZED JUST HOW MANY PEOPLE THE FOUNDATION HELPS ON BEHALF OF CHILDREN鈥橲 HOSPITAL. WE KNOW HOW SUPPORTIVE THEY ARE OF US, BUT WE ALSO LOOKED AROUND THE ROOM AND SAW SO MANY OTHER ORGANIZATIONS WHO HAVE BENEFITED FROM THEIR GENEROSITY. AND IT鈥橲 JUST INCREDIBLE WHAT THEY鈥橵E DONE FOR THE COMMUNITY. COACH SABAN MAY BE RETIRED FROM FOOTBALL, BUT SAYS HE WILL CONTINUE TO SERVE THE TUSCALOOSA COMMUNITY OFF OF THE FIELD. EVEN THOUGH I HAVE RETIRED FROM FOOTBALL, I HAVE NOT RETIRED FROM NICK鈥橲 KIDS, SO THIS GIVES ME AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK BACK ON, YOU KNOW, WHERE DID IT START? WHAT DOES IT BECOME SINCE THE SABAN鈥橲 ARRIVED IN TUSCALOOSA? THEY鈥橵E GIVEN NEARLY $13 MILLION TO THE LOCAL COMMUNITY
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Nick Saban back in Bryant Denny Stadium to give away $625k to local charities
Nick Saban may have retired from football, but he's made it clear he's staying in the business of giving back."I'm proud of what we've been able to do and hopefully we will continue to do more in the future," the former Crimson Tide head coach said. "Even though I have retired from football, I have not retired from Nick's Kids."The Nick's Kids Foundation gave away over $625,000 to local charities at their annual giveaway luncheon.The money will go to organizations focused on giving back to children and families. Mitchell's Place, one of the charities receiving money, is an organization dedicated to children ages 2-6 with developmental disabilities."Mitchell's Place is essentially a one-stop shop for all things autism and developmental disabilities," Bree Hester said. "So we're really an organization that's unique in the sense that we have an early learning pre-K component and an early education that's an inclusive model for both neurotypical children as well as children with special needs.">> A MOMENT OF JOY: News We LoveThe organization has been especially helpful for families like John Runyan's whose son Coleman was diagnosed with autism at the age of two."Mitchell's place has been just enormous for his development," Runyan said. " Coleman was diagnosed with autism a little before three years old. He started Mitchell's Place in August of that year, and he may have said two words and wasn't trying to say anything more than that. Within six months, he was piecing words together and creating his own sentences. Developmentally, it's been just wonderful for him and his diagnosis." Runyan said he's grateful for people like Nick and Terry Saban who are so committed to giving back to their community."The fact that somebody is supporting the school that my son gone to that has helped him so much, it means so much," he said.The Sabans have committed to giving back to children in the community."It's about the kids," Nick Saban said. "It's always been all about the kids."Children's of Alabama has been a long-time recipient of the Saban's generosity. Chandler Bibb with the hospital said she never realized how many other organizations had been helped by the family."On behalf of Children's Hospital, we know how supportive they are of us," Bibb said. "We looked around the room today and saw so many other organizations who have benefited from their generosity. It's just incredible what they've done for the community." Some of the most notable Nick's Kids projects include the Saban Center, Habitat for Humanity homes and Nick's Kids playgrounds. Saban said the foundation's greatest accomplishment is how it's inspired Crimson Tide players to give back as well."Probably the greatest accomplishment of was the opportunity that it gave so many of our players through the years to give back to the community," Saban said.>> YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD: Community coverage from 米兰体育 13Along with that statement, Saban reminisced on how his players have given back throughout the years."One of my proudest accomplishments is that there are memories and all that too like DJ Fluker driving a bulldozer that Mike Thompson donated when we had the tornado in 2011. Whether it was Tua being up on a ladder working on a scaffold and I had to tell Mrs. Terry 'Can we give him a job on the ground?' What I'm proudest of from all that is how many players we have that represented this program that now have foundations of their own," Saban said.Since arriving in Tuscaloosa, the Sabans, through the Nick's Kids Foundation, have given nearly $13 million to the community.

Nick Saban may have retired from football, but he's made it clear he's staying in the business of giving back.

"I'm proud of what we've been able to do and hopefully we will continue to do more in the future," the former Crimson Tide head coach said. "Even though I have retired from football, I have not retired from Nick's Kids."

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gave away over $625,000 to local charities at their annual giveaway luncheon.

The money will go to organizations focused on giving back to children and families. , one of the charities receiving money, is an organization dedicated to children ages 2-6 with developmental disabilities.

"Mitchell's Place is essentially a one-stop shop for all things autism and developmental disabilities," Bree Hester said. "So we're really an organization that's unique in the sense that we have an early learning pre-K component and an early education that's an inclusive model for both neurotypical children as well as children with special needs."

>> A MOMENT OF JOY: News We Love

The organization has been especially helpful for families like John Runyan's whose son Coleman was diagnosed with autism at the age of two.

"Mitchell's place has been just enormous for his development," Runyan said. " Coleman was diagnosed with autism a little before three years old. He started Mitchell's Place in August of that year, and he may have said two words and wasn't trying to say anything more than that. Within six months, he was piecing words together and creating his own sentences. Developmentally, it's been just wonderful for him and his diagnosis."

Runyan said he's grateful for people like Nick and Terry Saban who are so committed to giving back to their community.

"The fact that somebody is supporting the school that my son gone to that has helped him so much, it means so much," he said.

The Sabans have committed to giving back to children in the community.

"It's about the kids," Nick Saban said. "It's always been all about the kids."

has been a long-time recipient of the Saban's generosity. Chandler Bibb with the hospital said she never realized how many other organizations had been helped by the family.

"On behalf of Children's Hospital, we know how supportive they are of us," Bibb said. "We looked around the room today and saw so many other organizations who have benefited from their generosity. It's just incredible what they've done for the community."

Some of the most notable Nick's Kids projects include the , Habitat for Humanity homes and Nick's Kids playgrounds. Saban said the foundation's greatest accomplishment is how it's inspired Crimson Tide players to give back as well.

"Probably the greatest accomplishment of [Nick's Kids] was the opportunity that it gave so many of our players through the years to give back to the community," Saban said.

>> YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD: Community coverage from 米兰体育 13

Along with that statement, Saban reminisced on how his players have given back throughout the years.

"One of my proudest accomplishments is that there are memories and all that too like DJ Fluker driving a bulldozer that Mike Thompson donated when we had the tornado in 2011. Whether it was Tua being up on a ladder working on a scaffold and I had to tell Mrs. Terry 'Can we give him a job on the ground?' What I'm proudest of from all that is how many players we have that represented this program that now have foundations of their own," Saban said.

Since arriving in Tuscaloosa, the Sabans, through the Nick's Kids Foundation, have given nearly $13 million to the community.