Former Indianapolis Colts Coach Tony Dungy, Riley Children’s Foundation, and Basket of Hope are making a difference for 7,000 hospitalized children. Super Baskets of Hope is the first-ever Super Bowl host city service project that reaches across the nation.

Super Baskets of Hope will deliver 7,000 gift-filled baskets to critically ill children in each of America’s 32 NFL markets – including Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health in Indianapolis – and throughout Indiana.

Northview Church in Carmel helped tag and deliver 7,000 Pillow Pets donated by KLOVE radio in memory of Jacob McConahay, a Westfield 7-year-old who died of cancer. The story of his Pillow Pet mission is here: http://www.rileykids.org/stories/archives/jake_mcconahay/.

Nearly 1,000 volunteers will gather January 30 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis to fill baskets with items that will provide entertainment and inspiration to sick children. NFL players, coaches, alumni and other regional volunteers will deliver the baskets to children in each city.

For Dungy, this is a natural extension of the Basket of Hope program, for which he is the national spokesman. The program’s goal is to nurture hospitalized children mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. But, as Dungy notes, “I think this program does as much for the volunteers as it does for the kids. To see the fight and resolve these children have is truly special. After these visits, we feel they’ve helped us see life more clearly.”

For further details visit www.SuperBasketsofHope.org. Donations can be made on the web site as well as by texting RILEY to 90999 for a $5 contribution.