[September 21, 2017] Last year I stopped watching NFL football. Like all my friends, we are not going to support an organization (or its advertisers) that encourages disrespect of our nation, our military, our flag, and pokes us in the eye every time we watch them at work. But while I visited relatives from Texas and out of respect for them, I did watch the last few minutes of the Texan-Bengals game.
From my sister who lives in Dallas, Texas, I was made aware of Texan football player JJ Watt … now theLeaderMaker hero of the week. Texan JJ Watt made a great play to end an exciting last-minute Bengal drive and the Texan football team won the game but then something special happened. JJ Watt was interviewed and asked about his foundation that has been helping recent Hurricane Harvey victims, mostly in the state of Texas.
We all remember the major hurricanes that hit first Texas and then Florida. Football Texan JJ Watt asked the public initially for $200,000 in donations to help those in his home state recover. The response was overwhelming and soon he raised his donation goal to $500,000, then to $1 million, and then even higher. When the window closed this past Friday, September 15th, he will have helped raise over $33 million.
“There are not enough words to thank you all for your generosity. If there is one thing that I have taken away from these last few weeks, it is the reassurance of how much good is out there in our world. When times are the toughest, humanity stands at its strongest and you have all helped to prove that emphatically.” – JJ Watt1
When someone does something good, supports those values that make us all successful, puts their talent and time into supporting it, then it should be recognized. It matters little whether that person is a new soldier, intern, assembly line worker, or millionaire business person. They should be held up as a hero to us all because they are making a positive difference.
JJ Watt is a great American and hero of the week here in this leadership blog.
If you are interested in donating, his foundation continues to give to provide after-school opportunities for middle-school aged children in the community to become involved in athletics. In this way they may learn the character traits of accountability, teamwork, leadership, work ethic, and perseverance. His foundation’s website is here: http://jjwfoundation.org/. His Facebook page is here: https://www.facebook.com/jjwatt1/ (nearing 2 million followers).
[Don’t forget to “Like” the Leader Maker at our Facebook Page.]
———————
- His complete message was: There are not enough words to thank you all for your generosity. If there is one thing that I have taken away from these last few weeks, it is the reassurance of how much good is out there in our world. When times are the toughest, humanity stands at its strongest and you have all helped to prove that emphatically. On Friday, Sept. 15 at 5 p.m. CT, we will complete the fundraising portion of our efforts to dedicate our time to ensuring every dollar is put to work for the people in the devastated areas in and around Houston. There are many places you could have donated your hard-earned money and I’m honored you have chosen to join this effort to support the people who were affected most by Hurricane Harvey. Please keep this spirit of helping one another alive. The world is a better place when we all take care of each other. Sincerely, J.J. Watt