No Matter the Reason, Do Good
On March 3, 1993 Jimmy Valvano, assisted to the stage at the ESPY awards, gave one of the best speeches ever. In it he spoke of the importance of taking time everyday to laugh, to think and to cry. Filled with funny anecdotes he kept the audience wrapped. As important as the content was the manner in which his words were delivered moved anyone within earshot.
Then he made this announcement.
Now I look at where I am now, and I know what I want to do. What I would like to be able to do is spend whatever time I have left and to give, and maybe, some hope to others. Arthur Ashe Foundation is a wonderful thing, and AIDS, the amount of money pouring in for AIDS is not enough, but it is significant. But if I told you it’s ten times the amount that goes in to cancer research. I also told you that 500,000 people will die this year of cancer. And I also tell you that one in every four will be afflicted with this disease. And yet somehow, we seem to have put it in a little bit of the background. I want to bring it back on the front table.
We need your help. I need your help. We need money for research. It may not save my life. It may save my children’s lives. It may save someone you love. And it’s very important. And ESPN has been so kind to support me in this endeavor and allow me to announce tonight, that with ESPN’s support, which means what? Their money and their dollars and they’re helping me—we are starting the Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research. And its motto is, “Don’t give up . . . don’t ever give up.”
In the ten years the foundation has been around, they have given away more than $84 million dollars in awards. Because the foundation is fully endowed, every dollar that comes in goes out. The business of philanthropy is big business.
In 2024, charitable giving in the United States was estimated to be around $557 billion, which is a 1.9% increase from 2022. However, when adjusted for inflation, this was a 2.1% decrease. (Study done by the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy) That giving can be broken down into buckets. Individuals gave $374b, Foundations gave $103b, Bequests $42.6b and Corporations gave $36.5.
As government subsidized social services decline and access to health care continues to be a challenge, the private sector needs to step up. That is the role of philanthropy. We are social beings and we need to care for one another. We are on a team whether we admit to it or not. You get to pick the cause and then decide which team you are on. And each cause is truly a fight.
At length, this blog has addressed the obligation of professional athletes to act as role models, teaching our children to act with responsibility, grace and sportsmanship. The word “platform” has been thrown around by athletes, celebrities and influencers as a shorthand for leveraging their fame for the common good. Some do it in the name of God, some do it because of family members who suffer, some do it for tax gains and to further their “brand.” No matter the reason, they do it.
We see athletes with children in hospitals and assembling bags of food in pantries or serving food at shelters to the unhoused. Some have their own foundations to alleviate the challenges they had coming up. A cynic might think of how self serving those initiatives are. It doesn’t matter, they are doing good.
Michael J. Fox, when diagnosed with Parkinsons’ disease, began a fight to find a cure for Parkinsons’ and launched a project with the NHL. Coming from Canada, raised with hockey as the national sport, it seemed natural for him to partner with the NHL. This got the attention of Henrik Lunquist the famed goalie for the NY Rangers and together they collaborated with artist Dave Gunnarsson to design a Back to the Future-themed goalie mask for New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist in 2015. The mask was auctioned off for charity to benefit The Henrik Lundqvist Foundation and The Garden of Dreams Foundation. It raised $66,000 and sparked the creation of “The Lundqvist Crystal Hockey Mask,” created by designer Don Blanton, a second mask that in turn raised $100,000.
The lessons from this example are manifold. Most important is that idea that we should give to what is important to us. Find a cause that hits home and then giving will be lifelong. As Jimmy V said near the end of his iconic speech quoting Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Nothing great can be accomplished without enthusiasm to keep your dreams alive in spite of problems.” Enthusiasm comes from proximity and charity is infectious.
In early 2017, the University of Iowa Health Stead Family Children’s Hospital opened just across the street from Kinnick Stadium. Hospital staff and guests immediately noticed that the large windows on the 12th floor provided a direct view down into the stadium.
That 12th floor was aptly nicknamed “The Press Box,” and prior to the first game of the 2017 season, one fan shared an interesting idea on Facebook. Hawkeye fan Krista Young suggested that fans in Kinnick Stadium take a minute to wave to the patients during the team’s game against the Cowboys.
That idea spread like wildfire on social media, and sure enough, Iowa fans delivered. When the clock hit zero at the end of the first quarter, fans in Kinnick Stadium stood in unison and waved toward the 12th floor of the children’s hospital. Just like that, a new college football tradition was created. (Watch this amazing video.)
Some will be able to give of their time some of their money, some of their fame and each gift there is an opportunity to leverage that for even more.
Goodness expands, kindness is contagious.
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