Herman Johnson of the Arizona Cardinals to Donate Time and Money to Childhood School in Denton, Texas
Yesterday, I wrote a few words concerning my thoughts about "Big Herm" (Herman Johnson) and that big heart of his (Click here to read the webisode). Well, today, Laura Rodriguez, the Principal at Lee Elementary in Denton, Texas, would like to share some thoughts about how Herman is going to be visiting their campus tomorrow to spend some time with the students and make a monetary donation to the school.
Enjoy!
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Hi! This is Laura Rodriguez, the Principal at Lee Elementary in Denton, Texas. I just want to take a moment to share with Mr. Elias' fans how all of us here at school are excited to have his client, Herman Johnson, of the NFL's Arizona Cardinals, pay a visit to our campus, which we feel proud to say was his old stomping grounds.
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We first learned Herman was going to visit when his mother, Karen Johnson, gave me a call last week to let us know that he wanted to give a monetary gift to the school that was so good to him during his childhood. She said that Herman was going to come to the campus, say "hi" and make a donation of $1,500 to the Ann Windle School for Young Children, as well as another donation of $1,500 to Lee Elementary.
According to his mother, Herman would like for his monetary donations to go to Lee Elementary's neediest families. Seventy-nine percent of our campus' student body is on a free or discounted lunch program, which qualifies them as being "economically disadvantaged," so, thanks to Herman's incredible generosity, many of our students and their families are going to benefit from his donations.
Our initial plans for the funds will go towards providing free eye tests for students who obviously need their vision corrected (Target will then gift them with free glasses, as they always have before). Also, now that the weather is getting colder, we'll make sure that our underprivileged students have shoes, socks, underwear, coats, hats, gloves, etc. to help keep them warm through the chilly winter months.
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I believe Herman's coming back to express his generous side because he realizes that our school played an influential role in helping him create the fortunate life he's able to experience today. He grew up with our school's talented and caring staff who believed in him and pushed him to be the best he could be. And because of this encouraging upbringing, he's grown to realize that he, too, could have a similar impact on today's youth by providing them with a little bit of his money and inspiring motivation.
Herman has always been beyond generous with his time here at our schools. In the past, he would come over to Lee Elementary during our state TAKS testing time and be a part of the yearly pep rally we have to get the kids excited about the big exam. He'd get out there in front of the kids, motivate them to be as prepared as possible for the test and inspire them to keep their spirits up about the coming challenge, so they can better their chances at earning a high score. To hear this encouragement from a guy like Herman, a real life example of someone who attended Lee Elementary and ultimately became a tremendous success, causes them to never want to give up on themselves, because they see that if he can accomplish his dreams, they can too.
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