NFL’s Richard Sherman tackles $27,000 in school lunch debts to help needy kids
The San Francisco 49ers cornerback made a way for kids in Santa Clara, Calif., and Tacoma, Wash., by paying school lunch debts in both districts
This holiday season San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman came to the rescue of disadvantaged youth in at a California school by clearing the massive debts their families had accumulated with their local school district.
According to Yahoo, during Thanksgiving week, Sherman hand-delivered a check for more than $7,000 to clear student lunch debt at a Cabrillo Middle School in Santa Clara, California. Then he followed up by making a significantly larger donation to a Washington state school district.
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Sherman, 31, signed with the 49ers for $39 million back in 2018, and the school is located less than four miles away from Levi’s Stadium where the team has played since 2014.
The $7,491.27 check was a small financial sacrifice, but for the 60 students who benefited — many who come from homes where English is not the primary language, and some who have had to rely on special education support — the gift was both timely and substantial.
“It’s the most generous thing to happen for these kids, there’s plenty in need and he didn’t neglect them, it was the perfect way to give back and help them,” Principal Stan Garber of Cabrillo Middle School told ABC News. “It was the kindest most generous gesture.”
But the donation is a repeat for the defenseman, who grew up in Compton, Calif., has opened his heart to kids in need. Last month, he wrote a check for $20,000 to clear lunch debt for students in the Tacoma Public Schools. The district is located outside Seattle, where Sherman played for the Seahawks up until last year.
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Sherman made the donations just after the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) named him as the Week 11 Community MVP, for his charity work through his two organizations — Richard Sherman Family Foundation and Blanket Coverage Foundation.
Brandon Parker, NFLPA’s communications manager also notes that since 2013, Sherman has raised $1.5 million and “helped more than 70,000 people in carrying out their mission of providing students in low-income communities with school supplies and clothing so they can more adequately achieve their goals.”
