CHESTERFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — Detroit Lions tight end Tyler Conklin returned to his former elementary school Friday, helping create a new space that will provide food, clothing and other necessities to students in need.
Conklin visited Higgins Elementary School in Chesterfield Township for the first time in more than two decades. Through the Tyler Conklin Foundation, he presented the school with $6,000 to support a new dedicated space called the Hawk Hut.
WATCH: Lions’ Tyler Conklin gives back to elementary school he attended in Chesterfield
“It’s kind of always been a goal of mine to get to where I’m at and then come back to the community I grew up in,” Conklin said. “Something I’ve wanted to do since I was a little kid.”
Conklin attended Higgins Elementary from 2000 to 2005 and grew up nearby.
“I grew up right down the street,” he said. “I remember book fairs being right here. It's a surreal feeling being back.”
Conklin signed with the Detroit Lions in March, giving the NFL veteran an opportunity to play for his hometown team. His return to Higgins gave him another opportunity to reconnect with the community where he grew up.
Hawk Hut will provide food and clothing
Higgins Elementary School Support Specialist Andrea Growth said 41% of students at the school rely on the free or reduced-price lunch program.
Growth said the Hawk Hut will help fill some of the gaps those students and their families face, including providing snacks to children who may come to school without them.
“So the hut will give these kiddos some food,” Growth said. “A lot come to school without breakfast or lunch, so we cover that, but then don’t have their snacks, so it will cover snacks.”
Fifth grader Patrick Malfait is already looking forward to having the resource available.
“If I forget a snack, I can just go down there and get a snack since I’m a hungry dude,” Malfait said.
The Hawk Hut will also provide seasonal clothing, including winter boots, sweatshirts and jackets.
Conklin said his foundation worked with Higgins staff to identify where additional resources could make the greatest difference.
“The staff, we kinda just asked what holes or gaps can we help fill, where can we help,” Conklin said. “They came back and had the vision for the Hawk Hut.”
The dedicated space is scheduled to open next month and will be replenished with help from the Tyler Conklin Foundation throughout the year.
A former Higgins Hawk comes home
For Malfait, Friday’s visit was about more than the resources Conklin helped provide. It was also an opportunity to meet a professional athlete who once walked the same elementary school hallways.
“He took some time from his job to come visit us,” Malfait said. “Pretty crazy someone who is a star now and wasn’t back then came back to his hometown.”
The homecoming was also meaningful for some of Conklin’s former teachers.
Susan Buffa, who taught Conklin Spanish at Higgins, said she was proud to see her former student return to support the community.
“What I love is how Tyler has come back to his community,” Buffa said.
“He was a CMU Chip, a North Crusader, but before that was a Higgins Hawk,” she added. “And it’s nice to see him come back and give back to the community like that. It really is.”
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