Big Name Athletes Make Big Time Contributions
This past week, two big name athletes possessed giant hearts in the state of Texas. Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson and NBA superstar Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs made charitable contributions that spoke volumes about who they were as individuals.
On Tuesday, Duncan donated $247,000 to San Antonio’s 1000 Cancer Genome Project. This project conducts research for one of the most well-known and repetitive illnesses throughout the world. His commitment to the cause meant a great deal to him.
“The idea that a group of cancer researchers were willing to set aside egos, to make the information freely available and work strictly for the greater good of curing cancer was exactly the type of cancer project I was willing to support,” said Duncan.
Two days later, Andre Johnson performed a similar act. Johnson took a dozen kids, who were a part of Child Protective Services, to a local Toys “R” Us store. The children immediately went on a holiday shopping spree.
During their “80 seconds” inside the store, the children bought every toy that they could grasp. These items included Barbie dolls and video cameras. When the shopping concluded, Johnson had bought $19,521 worth of items. The money came from his foundation.
“Every day when I wake up, I ask myself, ‘Who can I add value to today,’ because it’s not about me. It’s all about helping someone else. And at this time of the year there are many opportunities to help less fortunate children have a great Christmas,” said Johnson.
Athletes, like Duncan and Johnson, play hard on the court and on the football field. They play even harder in making others around them happy. Life is not just about providing a good life for yourself; it is also about providing a good life for the people around you as well.
For more information, go to these links:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/04/andre-johnson-toys-r-us-shopping-spree_n_2239687.html
