Have you ever met a person so full of compassion that he’d willingly take the shoes off his feet and give it to someone in dire need?
That’s Tim Tebow for you.
Recently, the athlete and outspoken Christian visited a homeless shelter in Phoenix. Aside from seeing how the residents were doing, Tebow went there with a mission: to donate 50 pairs of new shoes.
The former NFL quarterback told St. Vincent de Paul staff members that he wanted to visit the guests who live there and give back.
Towards the end of the visit, Tebow realized that he hadn’t brought enough pairs of shoes, so he took off the pair he was wearing and gave it to a guest on his way out.
As if that wasn’t enough, Tebow also took down the names of those who didn’t get shoes that day and sent them all a pair through the shelter.
“If you ask me, or many of our guests, Tim has gone from professional athlete to Super Hero in just a few years,” Steve Zabilski, Chief Executive Officer of the non-profit, said. “His actions off the field are as impressive as any last-minute touchdown pass, or game-winning home run. I think we all can agree on that.”
Tebow, 33, rose to fame when he played as a quarterback for the Florida Gators during his college years. He then transitioned into a brief NFL career before becoming a Minor League Baseball player with the Mets.
He also made history as the first sophomore in NCAA to win a Heisman Trophy when he played for the Florida Gators.
The athlete is known for his charity work as much as he’s recognized for his athletic achievements. He established the Tim Tebow Foundation in 2010 to raise awareness and fight against human trafficking.
He decided to get involved after his father encountered four girls being sold like commodities in 2013, according to WTSP.
He also supports teens with special needs through the foundation.
Tebow is also involved in anti-abortion movements. In February, he made the following statement to a pro-life audience:
“It really does mean a lot more than winning the Super Bowl,” he told spectators at a Kansans for Life banquet. “One day, when you look back and people are talking about you and they say, ‘Oh my gosh what are you going to be known for? Are you going to say Super Bowl, or we saved a lot of babies?’”
In October 2019, the baseball star traveled 40 minutes out of his way to stop by a high-security men’s prison unit in Gatesville, Texas, after an inmate’s father asked if he would visit.
He spent five hours at the facility and spoke one-on-one with offenders who weren’t allowed to be in group settings.
Tebow also spent over an hour in a commons area talking directly to five inmates.
“He was just telling them that he was there because he loves them and they have a purpose and they can fulfill that purpose even where they are,” Suzanne McDonald, a Waco resident who accompanied Tebow at the prison unit, said.
“Honestly it’s one of my favorite things to do on this earth,” the sports star told KWTX. “I know it sounds weird, going to a prison, but man I just feel like it’s something God put on my heart a long time ago and he said, ‘Hey, most of the world forgot about them, but you don’t forget.’ So I try not to forget. I try to get with them and share with the hope that we have in our faith, to share encouragement…how they matter to me but more importantly how they matter to God.”
Tim Tebow is indeed one of the most compassionate athletes to have ever graced the fields. Join him in his fight for a better world by joining a Tim Tebow Foundation Rescue Team.
Share this story with your friends and family to inspire them to practice kindness.