| I have spent some time in recent months thinking
about the difference between charity and compassion. Both are good things, to be sure, but
there is a subtle difference. An act of charity is giving money or volunteering a few
hours for a good cause. Many celebrities host charity golf tournaments that raise money
and bring attention to worthwhile organizations seeking to better their communities.
Those acts are certainly to be admired. No one demands that we do anything for our
communities, so anyone who looks outside of himself to try to help others should be
commended.
But to my way of thinking, those who show compassion deserve even more credit.
Compassion is a way of life, not just a one-time act. Compassion requires you to get your
hands dirty and to get to know those you’re trying to help. It can be messy and
heart-wrenching at times, because it takes a real commitment.
When we here at Pro Football Weekly decided to create an award honoring NFL
players who do good works in their communities last year, we wanted it to be different.
The NFL’s Man of the Year award is one of several honors that already lauded players
doing charitable things.
So we decided that the primary criterion for the Pro Football Weekly Arthur S. Arkush
Humanitarian of the Year Award would be that a player does community work that is
hands-on. We want to give a pat on the back and a hearty "well done" to a player
who shows compassion in his community. We also asked voters not to consider a
player’s star value in the voting.
This year, we will give out the Arkush Humanitarian of the Year Award for the second
time. Nineteen NFL teams submitted players for us to consider in the voting. PFW’s
editors have chosen five finalists for this award. Another round of voting will be
conducted this month, and the winner of the award will be announced in July.
Here are the five finalists for this year’s honor, along with a brief description
of the work each is doing. I can’t do justice to their efforts in a few words, but
this will at least give you an idea of the good things that each of these five players is
doing. The finalists are listed alphabetically.
• Derrick Alexander, Chiefs — Alexander’s efforts center at the Solace
House, a non-profit center created to help Kansas City children and families cope with the
death of someone they love. Alexander, who saw one brother die in a car accident and had
another die of lung failure, attended support groups throughout the ’99 offseason at
the Solace House and called there every Tuesday during the season to answer football and
personal questions from Solace House participants. He provided 10 tickets to each Chiefs
home game for Solace House children and their families and got a group of companies to
donate money to the program for every catch he made. Alexander also worked with the
children of the Solace House to develop a signal to use in his touchdown celebrations
— he puts his hands over his head in the shape of a roof as a message to the children
in the program.
• Derrick Brooks, Buccaneers — Brooks will lead 25 kids from Brooks’
Bunch (members of Tampa- and Orlando-area Boys and Girls Clubs) on a 12-day tour of South
Africa later this month. Since October, members of three Boys and Girls Clubs have been
studying African culture and history during bimonthly workshops at the clubs. To be
eligible for the trips, students had to write essays and perform various research
assignments about Africa. While in South Africa, students will visit Robben Island, the
prison where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated; Soweto township; Pretoria; and a safari
camp. The students will also take part in a community-service project with African
students. Brooks will accompany the students on the trip. Brooks sponsored and led
educational trips to Washington, D.C., and Atlanta in past years.
• Junior Bryant, 49ers — Bryant’s 90 Ways foundation focuses many of its
efforts on helping burn-related foundations in the San Francisco area and in Lincoln, Neb.
The foundation helps to fund fire-prevention efforts, clinical research for burn medical
staff and programs assisting burn survivors. Bryant, who was burned over 40 percent of his
body when he was 15, annually visits the Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation’s Champ Camp,
a free camp for young burn survivors. Bryant spends a few days at the camp playing with
the kids and discussing his own story and recovery. He also visits burn victims in Bay
Area hospitals. Among Bryant’s other efforts are providing financial assistance for
college-bound students in the Omaha, Neb., area. He was a nominee for this award last
year.
• Chris Sanders, Titans — Sanders has focused his efforts on
helping homeless and hungry families in the Nashville, Tenn., area. He has helped to line
up housing for many families through his Sanders Foundation. Families that apply for
assistance and are approved get help in lining up housing and approximately $1,000 to help
pay utilities, security deposit and the first month’s rent. Sanders’ goal was to
help 100 families find housing this year. The foundation also helps the needy in Nashville
in other ways, from buying Christmas presents to helping to provide food and clothing for
people in homeless shelters. Sanders often delivers those supplies and helps to prepare
food at those shelters. He was a nominee for this award last year.
• Ted Washington, Bills — Washington has programs going on year-round, but he
especially gears up around the holiday season. In December, he appeared at a shoe store to
buy 1,000 pairs of shoes for children from Buffalo-area schools. The children who got the
shoes were chosen by school principals based on good attendance, behavior and academic
performance. Washington also signed autographs and posed for pictures at a toy store to
raise money for gifts for children who lived in inner-city housing projects, matching the
donations at the end of the night. He buys 30 tickets for every Bills home game for
Ted’s Troops, children involved with Junior Achievement. Washington also created a
foundation to raise money for a variety of youth-centered charities. He is the only repeat
finalist for this award. |
