http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...-berry?platform=amp&__twitter_impression=true
Man, this guy is a freaking TENNESSEE TREASURE.
One of my favorite bits:
Bolton Flint was starting first grade in 2017 when his mom, Angela, died of ovarian cancer. His teachers at Evoline C. West Elementary School were naturally worried about how a child who'd been through so much would be able to focus on school. But Bolton earned straight A's, and soon Berry, an E.C. West alumnus, heard about him. Berry went to the school to meet him and gave Bolton an iPad to help with his studies.
Bolton said he was nervous, surprised and happy to meet Berry. He said the gesture made him feel loved.
Carol and James Berry taught their kids to pay it forward. They tried to have another child and ended up having twins in 1995. Money was paycheck-to-paycheck tight, and some of Carol's co-workers must have known it. She'd go to work sometimes and find cans of baby formula on her desk.
"I don't second-guess myself," she said. "If you have something that pops in your spirit, just do it. That may be God's way of saying, 'Hey, this person or this family needs your help.'"
In high school, Eric used to collect leftovers and make a sack lunch for school. Carol couldn't understand why he was doing it, because she gave him lunch money every day. She found out later that Eric had a friend who couldn't afford lunch, so he gave the money to the friend and ate the leftovers.
Recently, Berry contacted his old grade school because he wanted to pay for all the students' delinquent lunch bills. He also funded a game room for the school and spent a day last spring playing football with a group of boys.
Around Christmastime, Berry donates toys and money to Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. Berry doesn't want to do interviews when he visits. (He declined to be interviewed for this story.) He just wants to see the kids. A few years ago, he spoke to a roomful of children facing possible transplants and dialysis. His hair was still gone from chemo, and in street clothes, he almost looked like one of the young patients. He told them that many people have it worse than him.
"He didn't come here with his uniform on or with an entourage with him," said Dr. Bradley Warady, the director of dialysis and transplantation at Children's Mercy. "It was just him and his mom. He was just a regular guy."
Warady said Berry has been at the hospital "on a regular basis, but it's really low profile."
"When they can have someone like an Eric Berry, not only as a football player but as someone who [overcame] a medical challenge himself, that gives kids a boost that's hard to quantify," Warady said.
Man, this guy is a freaking TENNESSEE TREASURE.
One of my favorite bits:
Bolton Flint was starting first grade in 2017 when his mom, Angela, died of ovarian cancer. His teachers at Evoline C. West Elementary School were naturally worried about how a child who'd been through so much would be able to focus on school. But Bolton earned straight A's, and soon Berry, an E.C. West alumnus, heard about him. Berry went to the school to meet him and gave Bolton an iPad to help with his studies.
Bolton said he was nervous, surprised and happy to meet Berry. He said the gesture made him feel loved.
Carol and James Berry taught their kids to pay it forward. They tried to have another child and ended up having twins in 1995. Money was paycheck-to-paycheck tight, and some of Carol's co-workers must have known it. She'd go to work sometimes and find cans of baby formula on her desk.
"I don't second-guess myself," she said. "If you have something that pops in your spirit, just do it. That may be God's way of saying, 'Hey, this person or this family needs your help.'"
In high school, Eric used to collect leftovers and make a sack lunch for school. Carol couldn't understand why he was doing it, because she gave him lunch money every day. She found out later that Eric had a friend who couldn't afford lunch, so he gave the money to the friend and ate the leftovers.
Recently, Berry contacted his old grade school because he wanted to pay for all the students' delinquent lunch bills. He also funded a game room for the school and spent a day last spring playing football with a group of boys.
Around Christmastime, Berry donates toys and money to Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. Berry doesn't want to do interviews when he visits. (He declined to be interviewed for this story.) He just wants to see the kids. A few years ago, he spoke to a roomful of children facing possible transplants and dialysis. His hair was still gone from chemo, and in street clothes, he almost looked like one of the young patients. He told them that many people have it worse than him.
"He didn't come here with his uniform on or with an entourage with him," said Dr. Bradley Warady, the director of dialysis and transplantation at Children's Mercy. "It was just him and his mom. He was just a regular guy."
Warady said Berry has been at the hospital "on a regular basis, but it's really low profile."
"When they can have someone like an Eric Berry, not only as a football player but as someone who [overcame] a medical challenge himself, that gives kids a boost that's hard to quantify," Warady said.
