TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – After training camp on Wednesday, Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Devin White hosted a backpack and food giveaway for 50 foster children in the greater Tampa Bay area.

It was his first “Get Live for Back to School” event, which was put on by his Get Live 45 Foundation. It was done in connection with the Bucs “Community Impact Day.”

“It’s very meaningful. That’s why I like doing it. I always like to be in attendance. You’ve got a lot of people who have foundations and just put their face on it, but I actually like to be in attendance so I can see the smiles and I can interact with the kids that I’m giving back to,” White said. “That’s what I want it to be. I want to be a face in the community and not just on a billboard or on a picture. I want to actually be there in person — like flesh and blood — so I enjoy every bit of it.”

The children from A Door of Hope, who ranged in age from kindergarten to 12th grade, received bookbags filled with school supplies and food, as well as a signed photo of White, which the linebacker handed out to each kid himself.

“It’s a lasting impact. But it’s also a jumpstart to getting ready to go to school,” White said. “They got a backpack from an NFL player. They were able to come to our practice facility, watch us practice. I think that’s something that they’ll take with them for a long time and they just know somebody cares about them. It kind of makes you feel good. Obviously those are a lot of kids that I work with from the Door of Hope so that was some familiar kids that I get to interact with even more like when I do my Christmas program with them and stuff. It was good to finally be able to meet them in person. That was a good thing.”

White founded his Get Live 45 Foundation in 2021, with the mission “to give the magic of hope and comfort to youth in foster care and foster families during life’s meaningful moments.”