It was another incredible year at Purpose2Play. We're honored to be the media outlet some of the world's most inspiring athletes choose to tell their stories to. Before we move on to 2017, let's reflect and look back on our top 16 stories from 2016 as measured by pageviews. Photo courtesy of Michael Somsan and Dominic Bernardo 16. [...]
The Cleveland Browns may have had one of the worst seasons in NFL history, but the city's food bank is reaping the benefits. In the middle of the Browns 0-14 start, one Browns' fan pitched the idea of throwing a "perfect season" parade to commemorate a winless season (which would have been the second such occurrence in NFL history). Other [...]
Nina Burges, 80, had never seen her beloved Texas Aggies play in person until her family made the wise decision to surprise her with game tickets for Wednesday's AdvoCare Texas Bowl featuring the Aggies and the Kansas State Wildcats. It made for the perfect Christmas present. My Mammaw has never seen A&M play, and she loves the Aggies. She's going [...]
Carolina Panthers' quarterback Cam Newton stepped up in a big way on his only day off. He used Tuesday to hop a flight to Atlanta all to see 10-year-old Auburn super fan, Austin Deckard, who has advanced pulmonary hypertension. The boy was recently diagnosed, and according to his teacher, Courtney Cooper, "his prognosis is not good." Cooper posted on Facebook [...]
Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo made a big donation to help the children in Syria. His contribution will help provide food and medical care for those in Aleppo. "Cristiano Ronaldo's generous donation will help us to support children from Aleppo and across Syria, who have suffered things children should never have to live through," Save the Children director Nick Finney said. [...]
Eric LeGrand's life changed drastically when he became paralyzed while making a special teams tackle in 2010. The former Rutgers defensive tackle has shared his story many times over, including once with us when we first launched Purpose2Play. “I felt like I was going to die because I couldn’t breathe,” LeGrand told us in 2014. “When I couldn’t move and [...]
When people see Albert Booth running, most think he is in his 70's. No one ever guesses that he's 97 years old. The World War II veteran from Pennsylvania began running after he retired in 1978. He aims for one race a week, and keeps a log detailing his finishing time and the weather conditions for each event. He even [...]
Photo courtesy of Erin Herle By Kim Constantinesco The healing power of sports often flies under the radar. We all fight wars inside of our own heads, but for those living with mental illness, their battles can be debilitating. Erin Herle knows the pain. The 27-year-old freelance journalist from Chatsworth, Calif. has generalized anxiety disorder, a condition [...]
Rocky Balboa has nothing on 75-year-old Don Wright. In November, Wright ran his 100th marathon in Philadelphia, but that's just a sliver of his story. He didn't start running until he was 62 years old. Then two weeks after he completed his first marathon, he was diagnosed with a rare and incurable type of blood cancer called multiple myeloma. Doctors [...]
Before the Houston Texans came from behind to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, the team had something up their sleeves. They brought Army specialist Hadden's wife and baby out onto the field to receive a special video message from their deployed serviceman. Well, they thought he was deployed. Check out this surprise reunion. A memory that will last a [...]