An Edison football coach wants his players to learn the importance of giving back to the community.

The Edison Eagles football team typically spends Saturdays practicing and studying footage of the previous night’s game.

But last Saturday the team took part in a 5K to benefit Hands for Hope, a nearby food pantry.

“We had about 60 football players and a dozen baseball players,” says Coach Matt Fulham.

The team had already been collecting canned food for the soup kitchen, which helps about 9,000 families per year.

“I just think it’s an important event,” Fulham says. “We preach to the kids all the time about what they can give back to the community.”

Part of the walk was also to raise funds for the Marisa Tufaro Foundation. Marisa Tufaro would have bene a sophomore at Edison High school this year. But she died in January 2017 at 13 years old, following six open-heart surgeries and a heart transplant.

"The entire Tufaro family has been a big part of our community,” says player Keegan McGuire.

It's not the first time Coach Fulham has pushed his players to serve.  They did the walk last year and they've also volunteered at a nearby veteran’s home. He says that he is coaching these teens into more than just football players.

"Obviously we are trying to win games but there's parts of life more important than football and this is one of them,” says McGuire.

The Hands of Hope food pantry took in a total of $12,000 in donations thanks to the 5K.