Ellis Hobbs – A Grounded Eagle Who Gave Wings to a Poor Community
By inspiredKiD
Jennifer Santoro with the Christmas presents Ellis Hobbs bought for her family at Toys ‘R’ Us.
Ellis Hobbs is a guy who had it all. He was a key player for the Philadelphia Eagles football team. But on November 21, 2010, that changed. In a game against the New York Giants, Ellis took a hit to his helmet and went down. He injured his neck and left the game. Later he found out that his neck injury would end his season and possibly his NFL career. It was a horrible day for Ellis, but he did his best to stay strong. In interviews, he talked about how lucky he was and how he would try to return to NFL football.
On December 17, 2010, he quietly made his gratitude clear. He walked into a Toys “R” Us store in a poor section of Philadelphia and began paying for the items of customers shopping there. When asked why he did it, he said “When you’re blessed, you should bless others. And even when you’re not blessed, you should still bless others.” Despite his tragedy, Ellis Hobbs found a way to reach out and help other people!
Additional Resources:
- Here are links to more articles about Ellis Hobbs.
Topics for Discussion:
- How was Ellis Hobbs able to look past his own tragedy and still reach out to help others?
- Why did Ellis perform his act of generosity “quietly”?
Take Action:
- Do something nice for someone “quietly”, or even secretly! Then enjoy watching as they discover the nice thing you’ve done!
- Ellis talked about feeling grateful for his blessings. Write down a list of your blessings and how you can show gratitude for them, just like Ellis did!
Teacher Features:
- Here is a link to a Critical Reading Skills worksheet that you can use for elementary school students.
- Here is a link to a Critical Reading Skills worksheet that you can use for middle school students.
