WATCH: Texas G Joe Schwartz raised money for Christmas gifts for Dell Children’s Hospital

Texas Longhorns basketball guard Joe Schwartz went the extra mile when given an assignment to do a fundraiser, gathering $5,000 through a GoFundMe account to spend on Christmas gifts for kids at Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas in Austin.

He talks about the experience in this Longhorn Network clip:

“Every year around the holidays I’ve done some sort of fundraiser either for a family or in need or for children in need,” says the junior from Waco. “And when the teacher assigned us a project and asked us to do something in the community that would benefit ourselves or others, Dell Children’s is the first place I looked.”

Schwartz set what he describes as a pretty ambitious goal of $5,000, but was able to hit it.

The men’s basketball team has volunteered at Dell’s for the past three years, which has had a big impact on Schwartz.

“I’ve loved every minute of it,” he says. “Seeing those kids fighting for their lives and trying to recover from their illnesses or injures is very inspiring.”

The money was used to buy the children gifts for the holiday season, and the clip shows players purchasing toys at a local Target store. Schwartz worked carefully to stretch the budget and reach as many kids as possible.

“With the amount of gifts we got today, I think a couple hundred kids will have their Christmases and holiday seasons changed.”

It had an effect on Schwartz as well.

“Seeing all this stuff, including stuff we have in bags, it’s overwhelming. When you dedicate yourself to a project that involves giving and involves impacting other people’s lives, that’s the most important thing.”