Gridiron Heroes Letter from The President

 

Dear Fellow Board Members and Supporters,

I’m writing today to encourage each and every one of you to please not give up the good fight of faith for our Gridiron Heroes. More than ever, these young men need our support and strength as they battle daily with their life changing spinal cord injuries (SCI). As Board Members and Supporters, we must continue to find ways to positively impact the lives of each of our Gridiron Heroes on a long-term basis.

2006 has been an extremely tough year for this organization as we have had 4 more athletes injured while playing football. All of these young men are still in rehabilitation facilities or in outpatient programs receiving extensive physical therapy for their injuries. In addition to dealing with their physical limitations, our Gridiron Heroes must also deal with the emotional trauma left by this type of injury. Once active and athletic, our Gridiron Heroes must learn to cope with their physical limitations and weaknesses.

Having to reach out to so many families has not been an easy task for our Founders - Eddie and Christopher Canales. With each injury, Eddie and Chris have had to re-live all of the pain and suffering associated with Chris’s injury and subsequent care. Through it all, they have had to overcome their own daily struggles in order to reach out and help others.

The Gridiron Heroes family has recently suffered a great loss with the untimely death of Bethany Norwood, a college cheerleader who suffered a SCI in 2004. Bethany’s perseverance was a testimony to many people as she dealt with her injury with a positive attitude and outlook on life. Bethany and her family touched the hearts of many people associated with our Gridiron Heroes. During this difficult time, we pray for peace, comfort, and understanding for all who loved her.

As you all know, involvement with the Gridiron Heroes Spinal Cord Injury Foundation is all about helping those who desperately need our assistance. As Board Members and Supporters of this great organization I’d like for each of us to think about the word "grace". We need to offer “grace” during this New Year in order to truly help our Gridiron Heroes.  Webster’s Dictionary defines “grace” as “courteous goodwill”. We can and must offer “grace” by doing the following:
Give! Give of our time, our efforts, our financial support, and our attendance at special events hosted by and/or held in honor of the organization and our Heroes.
Raise funds! Fundraising is the fastest way we can positively impact the lives of each of our Gridiron Heroes.
Act! Act on the promise of becoming more involved and try to do something extraordinary that will uniquely benefit our Gridiron Heroes.
Commit! Devote your time and efforts by participating in meetings and fund-raising events.
Expand! Increase and grow the number of supporters involved with our Gridiron Heroes Foundation.

Please join Terri and I by offering grace and goodwill to this most worthy of causes!

Sincerely,

Ron Booker

210-735-2249