Giants star player raises $1.3million to fight.
Saquon Barkley, the star running back for the New York Giants, made a huge impact on the fight against homelessness by hosting a ‘sleep out’ event at the Giants’ MetLife Stadium. “I had to sleep rough when I was a kid,” Barkley said, “and it was like a part of me.”
Saquon Barkley has raised $1.3 million for a non-profit organization dedicated to keeping America’s young people off the streets after hosting 350 people at MetLife Stadium, the NFL’s New York Giants’ home.
The 26 year-old running back’s partnership with Covenant House marked the fifth consecutive year that he’s been at the forefront of the effort, NJ.com reported.
Contributors braved the cold Thursday night to sleep on the turf in cardboard boxes as the temperature dropped to 31 degrees.
With 82,500 seats, 70 percent of which could be filled with the thousands of young adults who flock to Covenant House each year for refuge, the non-profit said.
Barkley first partnered with the charity’s New Jersey affiliate in 2018, shortly after being selected by the Giants in the second round of the draft. Covenant House provides services to young people (aged 18-21) living on the streets and those who have survived human trafficking. The organization not only provides short-term assistance to those in need, but also works to equip them with the tools and resources they need to stay off the street in the future. The mission of the charity is personal to the player, who has previously said that he was homeless for a short time as a kid.
In partnership with The Covenant House, Barkley will be hosting ‘Sleep Out’ for the fifth year in a row.
I didn’t feel comfortable talking about it or accepting that it was a part of my past,’ he said to a roomful of Sleep Out attendees on Thursday, according to NJ.com. ‘I just wanted it to be a thing of the past.’
But no, that’s why I sit there and listen to these young adults’ conversations. They speak to me.
The Giants have a long history of partnering with Covenant House, with former owner Wellington Mara working with the charity’s New York location for 46 years (1959-2005, the year Mara passed away).
According to the Giants, “Barkley continues the Giants’ long-standing commitment to homelessness in the Big Apple, having raised $7 million for Sleep Out since becoming chairman of the organization five years ago.”
Even more impressive is the fact that Barkley, the NFL’s 2018 Offensive Rookie Of The Year, has been named the Giants’ 2023 nominees for this year’s award, which honors a player’s off-field accomplishments.
