Some members of the USF football team traded in their helmets for hard hats on Saturday to help out Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas County.
- USF football players volunteered with Habitat for Humanity
- Players painted a house and and installed hurricane shutters
"This community raised me and to be able to give back and have my teammates come out and help is always a blessing," USF Football Wide Receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling said.
Wide Receiver and St. Pete Native Marquez Valdes-Scantling has worked with habitat before and brought in some back up to paint and install hurricane shutters on a house Brittney Keene is about to call home.
"This community raised me and to be able to give back and have my teammates come out and help is always a blessing"
"I think it's great that the football team is out here today and setting an example for younger kids that they can also give back to organizations for a good cause," Keene said.
The players hope their volunteer work will set a positive example and show the community that they care. They said they don’t want recent negativity surrounding the team to reflect on all of the players. From the football fields to classrooms, food drives, and fundraisers, Valdes-Scantling said the team does a number of different things to give back and they don’t mind getting their hands dirty to help a great cause.
"To be able to have the football players come out who go out, give their blood, sweat and tears and to be able to turn around and paint a house or rake someone's yard it's always good to give back to the community," Valdes-Scantling said.