GoBlueInNYC

September 20th, 2012 at 10:17 AM ^

Good for Woodley; a fantastic player and a great guy. He's done a lot for Saginaw, and he tends to do things that aren't really flashy but hugely helpful in a strictly practical sense. Like the video shows, he does things like provide haircuts. I remember reading an article a year or two ago when Woodley made a huge donation to cover basic school supplies like backpacks, notebooks, pencils, etc. And more recently, he paid to cover the participation costs for every athlete in the Saginaw public school system. Woodley is definitely a guy who loves to give back and makes a real difference.

Joined: 03/23/2010

MGoPoints: 8772

LSAClassOf2000

September 20th, 2012 at 11:01 AM ^

Presumably, this is the blog entry which supplments the video, and it is a nice read - (link).

He said something which I found very interesting:

"Sometimes, the problem in our community is that the people who are successful, they don't come back. It's almost a secret, like 'I made it out, but I'm not going to tell you.' I want kids to see something positive -- 'That guy came from my city, and he comes back!'"

It is little things like this that generate pride in a community where it may be lacking otherwise. You really do have to admire that he is not ashamed at all of who he is or where he is from, when it seems, as he notes, that a fair number of celebrities with such roots are. He has done so many great things for Saginaw as well as many great things on the field. If only more people in his position would give back at this level...

 

Joined: 01/07/2011

MGoPoints: 130610