Haitian American Sports

NFL Rookie Mackensie Alexander’s First act as a pro: Donating $10K to Boys and Girls Club

alexander_mackensie_ntmediaday_700

Just when you thought Haitian-American Mackensie Alexander story couldnt get any better.

Me and Mackensie chatted for a few minutes last week. He’s such a sweet guy, out of all the things to talk about his main priority was making sure I know how much he want to do to help build his country and his culture so I wasnt surprise when I read his first act as a professional ball player was giving back.

According to this ESPN article,

The contract Mackensie Alexander officially signed with the Minnesota Vikings on Friday will pay him $4.32 million over the next four years, including a $1.34 million signing bonus that immediately vaulted the 22-year-old into one of the nation’s top tax brackets.

Other than the possibility of buying a car for his mother, Alexander said he has no plans for a splurge purchase. In fact, the first significant investment he made after the draft was in kids who are trying to scale the same economic obstacles he faced.

Alexander worked out a deal with Adidas earlier this week to donate $10,000 worth of athletic equipment to the Boys and Girls Club in Collier County, Florida, where the second-round pick grew up picking fruit as the son of Haitian immigrants.

The cornerback’s story was highlighted in this SportsCenter piece over the weekend. His hometown swelled with pride after the story ran, and Alexander said Friday that the story was more about Immokalee, Florida — where more than 70 percent of the residents are of Hispanic descent and nearly 40 percent live below the poverty line — than it was about him.

Now, as he begins his career in the NFL, thousands of miles and layers of economic strata away from home, Alexander is trying to reach back toward those orange groves.

“I know how I was when I was a child; I didn’t go to a Boys and Girls Club,” Alexander said. “My Boys and Girls Club was going to the field and working every day with my mom and dad, going to the packing house and stuff like that.”

When Alexander was in high school — he estimated he was 14 or 15 — Immokalee High School product Edgerrin James saw Alexander working out on the football field. “I was surprised for him to be there,” Alexander said. “The first thing he said was — and I’ll never forget it — he said, ‘You don’t see kids like you working like this anymore.'”

The four-time Pro Bowler gave Alexander a pair of his gloves; Alexander said he still has them at his parents’ house.

Now, the cornerback is trying to use his new-found success to galvanize those who might follow him.

“There’s a lot of people in America that are successful, but they don’t come back home,” he said. “They don’t show their face, and the kids don’t know who they are. They don’t have anybody to look after, and that’s when you’ve got problems of kids being bad, going to jail, not doing positive things. I just want them to look at me as a positive outlet.”

Facebook Comments

Ray Banlye Broward (BCR) Disid Evalyasyon Anviwònman an Nimewo ID Pwojè Finansye Konte Broward ak Konte Miami-Dade, Florid: 452240-1

Ray Banlye Broward (BCR) Disid
Evalyasyon Anviwònman an Nimewo ID Pwojè Finansye Konte Broward ak Konte Miami-Dade, FLORID: 452240-1

Evalyasyon Anviwònman Revizyon

Konte Broward ak Depatman Transpò Laflorid (FDOT) te devlope yon Evalyasyon Anviwònman (EA) jan Administrasyon Federal Transpò (FTA) mande pou sèvis tren banlye nan Konte Broward pou asire konfòmite ak Lwa sou Règleman
Nasyonal pou Anviwònman (NEPA). Evalyasyon Anviwonman pote sou miz an plas sèvis tren banlye sou koridò ferovyè (Kot Lès Florid) depi nan estasyon pasaje yo nan vil Aventura ale nan direksyon nò rive nan jiska vil Fort Lauderdale, yon distans 18.5 kilomèt. Nouvo estasyon pasaje yo pwopoze nan Vil Hollywood, nan Ayewopò Entènasyonal Fort Lauderdale- Hollywood, ak nan Sid Fort Lauderdale.

Objektif Evalyasyon Anviwonman a se analize efè aplikasyon pwojè a sou anviwònman fizik, imen ak natirèl. Sa a se yon avi ki anonse ke yon peryòd konsiltasyon piblik 30 jou ap kòmanse 19 jiyè 2024 epi fini 18 out 2024 pou yo ka rekiyi kòmantè sou Evalyasyon Anviwonman an. Tout kòmantè ou resevwa pandan peryòd kòmantè sa a, ak repons a kòmantè sa yo, pral enkòpore nan dokiman final desizyon NEPA a. Kòmantè yo ka soumèt nenpòt lè pandan peryòd kòmantè a nan youn nan
de fason:

 Pa imèl: BCRSouth@broward.org
 Pa lapòs US: Broward County Transit, Capital Planning and Project Development Attn: Broward Commuter Rail South, 1 North University Drive, Suite 3100A, Plantation, Florida 33324

Tout kòmantè ekri yo dwe resevwa anvan 4:30 P.M. dimanch 18 out 2024. Tout moun ki enterese envite pou fè kòmantè yo.

Tanpri note ke enfòmasyon pèsonèl moun ki soumèt kòmantè yo, si yo bay yo, yo ka pibliye nan dokiman anviwònman yo ki sikile piblikman. Yon manm piblik la ka chwazi eskli enfòmasyon pèsonèl yo nan kòmantè yo.

Yon kopi elektwonik Evalyasyon Anviwonman a disponib jiska 18 out 2024 sou sit entènèt pwojè a
(www.browardcommuterrailstudy.com) an tèks klè ak fòma pdf, ak nan fòma papye nan Syèj Sosyal Broward County Transit (1 North University Drive, Suite 3100A, Plantation, Florida 33324) pandan lè travay nòmal yo. Kopi papye yo disponib tou nan biwo FTA Rejyon 4 ki nan 230 Peachtree Street, NW. Suite 1400, Atlanta, GA 30303, United States.

Kopi enprime Pwojè Evalyasyon Anviwonman a ap disponib tou pou revize pandan lè ouvrab regilye yo nan lokal bibliyotèk piblik Konte Broward sa yo:

-100 S Andrews Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
-1 Park Avenue East, Dania Beach, FL 33004
-2600 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, FL 33020
-300 S Federal Highway, Hallandale Beach, FL 33009

Enfòmasyon pou Kontakte:
Phil Schwab, P.E., FDOT Responsab
Pwojè Depatman Transpò Florid
3400 West Commercial Boulevard
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33309
Telefòn: (954) 777-4524
Nimewo gratis nan (866) 336-8435, ekst. 4524 Imèl: BCRSouth@broward.org
Depatman Transpò Florid
3400 West Commercial Boulevard
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33309
Telefòn: (954) 777-4524
Nimewo gratis nan (866) 336-8435, ekst. 4524 Imèl: BCRSouth@broward.org

Jie Bian, BCT Responsab Pwojè
Broward County Transit
1 North University Drive
Suite 3100A Plantation, Florida 33324
Telefòn: (954) 357-8532
Imèl: BCRSouth@broward.org

Upgrade To A High-Efficiency Toilet

GET HELP WITH YOUR FAFSA NOW

Categories

Featured In:

 

ADVERTISE WITH US