Huard and His Compassion International Teammates Help Thousands of Hurting Children During the Pandemic
September 28, 2021
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. —As the 2021 NFL season enters its fourth week, fans are focused on their favorite teams and players. One former NFL quarterback, Brock Huard, is involved in the season, too—and not just as a game analyst. Huard is helping to “fill” a much different type of “stadium.”
A devout Christian and father of three, Brock Huard spent six seasons as a pro quarterback in the NFL, four of those with the Seattle Seahawks. Prior to that, as a college player for the Washington Huskies, he broke more than 20 school records. Today, Huard’s faith fuels his charitable work for Compassion International and its unique Fill the Stadium (FtS, fillthestadium.com) initiative, which is providing essential food, medical care, and support for thousands of impoverished people around the world.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt in our hearts that the Lord’s opened this door—and we want to do His work and be His hands and feet, and in this case, a mouthpiece for serving ‘the least of these,’” Huard told The Christian Post recently. While the Fill the Stadium initiative has gained strong support, the effort is not yet complete. Compassion’s CEO Santiago “Jimmy” Mellado and his team need to achieve Fill the Stadium’s goal of helping 70,000 children in crisis. They’ve raised over $32 million so far reaching 64,000 kids and their families, but they must still “fill the stadium”—and reach all 70,000 kids at risk of hunger, or worse.
CEO Mellado explains, “We are committed to caring for 70,000 children who were not sponsored due to the pandemic, which is enough children to fill an average NFL football stadium. At Compassion, we believe the empty stadiums at the Tokyo Olympics this summer and at NFL games last season were a sobering reminder of those who still need essential food, health care, and support as this crisis continues.”
Mellado’s pressing mission is to “fill the stadium.” This is why his Fill the Stadium initiative, with the help of Brock Huard and many others, is pushing harder than ever to support the world’s neediest.
“We have all experienced the reality of empty stadiums,” says the Fill the Stadium team about the COVID-19 era. “The average NFL stadium holds 70,000 seats. We need to reach that many kids. This effort desperately needs a caring, prayerful, and thoughtful community to join together in this critical relief.”
In addition to Huard, those holding co-leadership roles in this charitable team effort include Alyssa Naeher of the U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team (which won a Bronze Medal in Tokyo); Nick Foles, professional football MVP quarterback; Adam Engel of the Chicago White Sox; Sam Burns, PGA TOUR golfer; Nick Ahmed of the Arizona Diamondbacks; Jordy Nelson, former professional wide receiver; Devin and Jason McCourty, NFL defensive backs; Carson Palmer, former professional quarterback, Nate Solder of the New York Giants; Jaccob Slavin of the Carolina Hurricanes; and more. Steve Stenstrom, president of Pro Athletes Outreach, is also playing a lead role in the effort.
To learn more about this effort, visit the Fill the Stadium website, as well as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Founded in 1952,Compassion International is a Christian child development organization that works to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name. Compassion revolutionized the fight against global poverty by working exclusively with the Church to lift children out of spiritual, economic, social, and physical poverty. Compassion partners with more than 8,000 churches in 25 countries to deliver its holistic child development program to over 2 million babies, children, and young adults. Its child sponsorship program has been validated through independent, empirical research.
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To interview Santiago “Jimmy” Mellado, president and CEO of Compassion International, or another Fill the Stadium spokesperson, contact Hamilton Strategies, Media@HamiltonStrategies.com, Jeff Tolson, 610.584.1096, ext. 108, or Deborah Hamilton, ext. 102.
