George Kittle Brightens Day for Children's Hospital Patients

PHOTO COURTESY UI STEAD FAMILY CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL NFL Hawkeye George Kittle shares a smile with a patient during a recent visit to UI Stead Family Children's Hospital.

George Kittle (16BA) seems to be everywhere these days. In April, the San Francisco 49ers star made a cameo at WrestleMania 39. The University of Iowa alumnus took the stage at a recent Napa Valley festival alongside actor Keanu Reeves. And this month, he’s hosting his annual Tight End University summit in Nashville with fellow NFL players. 

In between those high-profile events, Kittle found time to return to Iowa City in May to visit with some of his youngest fans. Joined by wife and fellow UI alum Claire Till Kittle (16BA), George Kittle played video games, signed autographs, and brought smiles to the faces of patients and their families at UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital. 

Kittle was back in Iowa for his youth football camp in May at Kinnick Stadium that raised $25,000 for UI Dance Marathon, the student-led organization that supports pediatric cancer patients. Just like on fall game days, Kittle and hundreds of campers took a break from football to wave to patients at the nearby children’s hospital. 

Kittle has been a longtime supporter of UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital, dating back to his playing days at Iowa, when he helped lead the Hawkeyes to a Rose Bowl as a senior in 2015. Kittle and former teammate and current Jacksonville Jaguar quarterback C.J. Beathard (16BS) returned to Iowa to visit patients at the hospital in 2019.

In 2020, Kittle, whose nickname is the People’s Tight End, auctioned off a specially made championship belt that was signed by several NFL tight ends, with proceeds benefiting the children’s hospital.

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