The St. Thomas men’s rugby club taught 4- to 12-year-old kids how to play rugby Sunday as part of a volunteer opportunity to raise money for children’s mental health illnesses.

The Washburn Center for Children held its fourth annual Washburn Games at Bryn Mawr Park in Minneapolis. The event featured an array of activities including football, lacrosse and cricket. For the first time this year, rugby was added to the games.

Minnesota Youth Rugby Programs Manager Libby Berg said she was excited about rugby in the Washburn Games.

“Seeing all the kids getting excited about playing rugby, that is the best thing ever. You know, when kids walk away and say, ‘That was so much fun.’ It’s heartwarming,” Berg said.

Scrum half Matt White hopes his volunteer work will not only help the children’s mental health cause, but also inspire the kids to become rugby players themselves.

“Hopefully in a couple years, they’ll come play for us,” White said.

Stephanie Dodd can be reached at dodd0474@stthomas.edu.