Use Your Platform to Help Others

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more information.

helping others

We’re living in some crazy times. Natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and fierce political disagreements. Our social media feeds and television channels are plastered with negative story after negative story. Headlines looking to incite anger and worry.

I’ve written before about how I prefer to focus on what’s in my control. Our world is filled with brokenness, but I’m confident that we can make it a better place for our children if we continually focus on helping others.

So rather than spend more time discussing all the problems in the world today, I’d like to highlight a few positive stories that caught my eye recently.

Hurricane Harvey Relief Efforts

It started with J.J. Watt, a star NFL player for the Houston Texans. After Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, he set up a fund on YouCaring.com with the initial goal of raising $200,000 to help those in need. What happened next is nothing short of amazing.

Over 200,000 people donated a total of over $37 million dollars! The relief efforts from that money kicked off with 10 semi-trucks loaded up with supplies, delivered to 4 different locations. This is just the beginning of the relief efforts in Houston, but it’s clear that J.J. Watt is playing a big role in helping rebuild the city.

Watt said that the biggest lesson he learned throughout all this was, “When things look the bleakest, humanity steps up for each other.”

Another recent story came from Watt’s teammate, rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson. Watson made headlines by giving his first NFL game check to three cafeteria workers. He had heard the cafeteria workers were still trying to recover from the devastating effects of the hurricane and brought it upon himself to step in and assist.

Watson was later quoted saying, “If you can help, you must.”

Good Samaritan Steps In

One more example occurred last week with two players from the Washington Redskins, Rob Kelley and Keith Marshall. The two players were checking out a GameStop on their off day when they encountered a 10-year old kid. They overheard the kid mention that he was saving up to buy an Xbox, when they decided to purchase one for him as a gift. Kelley and Marshall didn’t do it for publicity, the story ended up being shared on Facebook by another customer that saw it all take place.

Today’s post is a short one, but my point in bringing up these stories is to say that no matter where you’re at in life, you’ve been given a platform. It may not be as far reaching as a professional football player, but we all have a circle of influence. We can all help make the world a better place.

Positivity is always there, sometimes you just have to look a little bit closer. I’m a big believer that sports bring people together, and these stories help reinforce that.

This post is part of a blog chain about random acts of kindness, be sure to check out the other posts by fellow bloggers and help spread the kindness this holiday season:

Thanks for reading! Be sure to get updates on all of my latest posts by subscribing via RSS, following me on Twitterand liking my page on Facebook!

You may also like...