JJ Watt is one of the best defensive player’s in the National Football League today. However, he makes his presence felt both on and off of the football field. After being drafted 11th overall in the 2011 NFL draft by the Houston Texans, Watt won the defensive player of the year in 2012, 2014, and 2015. Although this is impressive in itself, what is even more remarkable is Watt’s efforts done off the field. Watt has been able to take the position of fame that he is in and use it to help the community surrounding him.
Relief After Hurricane Harvey
Disaster struck Houston in 2017 when Hurricane Harvey made landfall. This hurricane destroyed the city and changed the lives of many. Instead of sitting around, Watt took to his foundation, named after himself, and encouraged people to donate to help the town that he played for. The main goal for Watt’s foundation is to provide children the opportunity to participate in after school activities. This is a great 
goal, but he pivoted to contributing to the community as a whole when Harvey hit. When he first started this campaign, he had the goal of raising $200k. This was just a drop in the bucket to the amount that people actually donated through his efforts. In total, Watt was able to raise over $37 million through his foundation in relief efforts. Since then, this has been used to rebuild over 1,000 homes in the Houston area which is just the start. On top of this, over 900 childcare centers have been rebuilt and 239 million meals have been distributed to victims of the hurricane. These efforts earned Watt the Walter Peyton man of the year in 2017 which is awarded to the NFL player who makes a significant impact on the community that surrounds them.
Because of Watt’s entrepreneurial efforts, he was able to impact those around him and help those in need. Some athletes might have donated their own money, which would be great, but Watt wanted to do more and helped raise an insane amount of money for his community. Not many athletes would have been able to accomplish such a large task like this, but because of the platform that Watt had already established with his foundation, he was able to effect a large amount of people. I’m sure the city of Houston will always be appreciative for the efforts that Watt gave to their city.
https://www.si.com/nfl/2019/08/29/texans-jj-watt-hurricane-harvey-funds-homes-built-meals-houston
Wow! This is so cool. I knew that J.J. Watt is a great defensive football player, but I had no idea that he is also a man with a big heart for community. I love seeing those with fame and fortune use their platform to do good for the people that make their success possible. He really made a wonderful decision pivoting his foundation for the betterment of his own community after Harvey hit. The amount of money raised is astounding when you compare it to his original goal. You know you have rallied support when you are able to finance thousands of re-builds, and millions of meals. Thank you for sharing!
The Watt family is one of the best football families out there! The charity work that they do is truly remarkable, but JJ has especially made an impact in Houston. Providing meals for the needy is always a kind and thoughtful gesture, but providing 239,000,000 meals is more than remarkable! I remember when he started that fund, it really picked steam up quickly and pretty much became a trend!