Tony Cutillo
In a world that’s usually centered around hate and violence, the stories of an NFL athlete leading the charge to change is always a welcome read. It certainly becomes much more invigorating when it is an athlete who plays close to home. The specific athlete I’m talking about in this post is Carson Wentz.
When the Philadelphia Eagles drafted the young man from North Dakota, they knew exactly the type of person they were getting. Wentz has that special gift as a guy who endears himself to everyone he meets. He’s genuine, humble, but still knows how to be competitive when it counts. He’s a leader on the field and now he is taking those skills off the field as well.
As first reported back in May, Wentz is helping to build a sports complex in Haiti after a mission trip there in the offseason with former teammate Jordan Matthews. Funded by The Carson Wentz AO1 Foundation, the Mission of Hope in Haiti (MOH) will launch a sports initiative that will aid in building a multipurpose sports complex and education center on its campus. This will provide children all the access and nutrition they need to become a successful athlete.
“I believe in Mission of Hope’s initiative completely, and I feel that this sports complex will be an incredible way for the youth of Haiti to have more opportunities to enjoy sporting competition, to further their education, to have access to healthy meals, and to enjoy being around a Christian community to help further their faith,” Wentz said in a statement.
From painting houses in Haiti with fellow church members in May to raising close to 400,000 for his foundation, Wentz has shown the willingness to give back by not just the almighty dollar, but by using his personable presence to show he is just like you and me.
It’s not every day that an athlete is willing to jump on a plane and fly across the map in order to help a group of strangers. Fortunately, for the city of Philadelphia, we struck gold and mined ourselves a gem. These stories will become abundant and are a welcome change from the constant political diversion that have taken over the sports scene. Well done, Mr. Wentz. Well done!
Check out this phenomenal look at the mission, originally posted by the Eagles.
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