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Former New England Patriots edge defender Chris Long has been an extremely charitable member of the global community through his Waterboys endeavor to help provide clean water to areas in need and he’s dedicated his 2017 season to helping improve educational opportunities in the United States.
"My wife and I have been passionate about education being a gateway for upward mobility and equality," Long told The Associated Press. "I think we can all agree that equity in education can help affect change that we all want to see in this country."
Long combined his first six game checks of the 2017 season to create 2 scholarships for students in Charlottesville, Virginia, and now he’s donating his remaining 10 game checks to “four organizations whose missions focus on making education easily accessible to underserved youth while also providing students the support they need to develop strong social and emotional character,” according to the AP report.
Let's make a difference this season & ensure education is attainable for everyone. I made a pledge; it's your turn: https://t.co/yCKRaeYXT1
— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) October 18, 2017
"There's a lot of opportunities to help out and they're wonderful organizations," Long said. "We have such a great platform as football players and hopefully fans get behind it."
Long is raising four concurrent fundraisers through Pledge It, and there’s a competition involved for Patriots fans. Three of the funds represent the three communities that Long has played for in the NFL- St. Louis, New England, and Philadelphia- and a fourth is a general fund for NFL fans.
Fans can donate either a lump sum or a weekly amount in support of their community and the fund that has the most donations by the end of week 16 of the NFL season will receive an extra $50,000 from Long.
You can donate to the New England page right here, and currently we’re barely in third place. Philadelphia has almost 10x the donations and St. Louis- WITHOUT A FOOTBALL TEAM- is on New England’s heels. Do what you can do to help and if you aren’t in a position to donate financially, then please help raise awareness by sharing Long’s initiative!