Covenant House Florida was honored to be visited on Christmas morning by players from Penn State and Florida State universities who were here in Ft. Lauderdale for the Blockbuster Bowl.

The players came with gifts including T-shirts and posters, but their greatest gift was their time and attention to troubled teens and young adults. Virtually all our kids have nowhere else to go -- no one to love them. Some are runaways, but most are throwaways from families who abused or molested them. Many have lived on the street for months, sometimes years.

We never say no -- day or night -- to desperate kids who need our help. Whenever possible, we reunite kids with their families. Yet the bleak reality is that only one in four can return home. So we counsel our kids to develop individual plans with positive goals. But that's hard when their most recent role models have been street predators who victimized them.

The Penn State and Florida State University players reinforced the powerful message that our kids are worth caring about, and I'm very grateful for their visit.