Philadelphia Eagles running back Cecil Martin '99 can barely see daylight. He's got a guy on his arm, someone else on his hip, and one circling his leg. They all want a piece of him.

Then - wham! - he's down on his knee, laughing and teasing. His attackers aren't Giants; they're more like Lillipu-tians. The little kids are crowded into an overheated community center to visit with Santa (Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb) and to get autographs and books from Martin.

They'll take those books home past the razor wire and dilapidated buildings that mark one of the grim neighborhoods of North Philadelphia. The ebullient Martin, who loves to talk to kids about the virtues of hard work and study, may be seeing little visions of his own Christmases past. As a youngster, he lived in a housing project on the south side of Chicago, and his family had its share of tough times.

When Sarah Martinez-Helfman '87, MS'89 sees the kids leaving with their Berenstain Bears books, she knows those books will likely be the only ones in their homes.