Chicago Bears’ Howard Launches Fund-raising Challenge to Honor Father’s Death from PF
Jordan Howard, leading rusher for the Chicago Bears, is launching a fund-raising challenge to honor the 10-year anniversary of his father’s death due to pulmonary fibrosis (PF). The campaign will benefit the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) and the PF community.
The challenge relies on a simple chain reaction: Every participant is asked to donate $10 and then ask 10 friends to donate the same amount. Howard has pledged to personally match the first $10,000 donated to the campaign.
“My dad was my best friend and I miss him every day,” Howard said in a press release. “Ten years is like yesterday to me. I want everyone affected by pulmonary fibrosis to keep fighting, keep having hope and faith and keep believing there will be a cure.”
Reginald B. ‘DOC’ Howard, Jordan’s father, died on Jan. 31, 2007 after a nine-year battle with PF. He was 52. Jordan Howard was 12 years old when his life was turned around by his father’s death. But Howard turned his grief into something bigger, and became a champion for the PF community when he pledged his support in November 2016.
He has since auctioned his custom-made Adidas teal-and-lime-green cleats, adorned with his father’s nickname, ‘DOC’, during the NFL’s My Cause, My Cleats inaugural campaign on Dec. 4, 2016.
The cleats auctioned in that campaign were worn by Howard during the Bears’ 26-6 win over the San Francisco 49ers. This was a historic game for Howard, who scored three touchdowns and rushed for a total of 117 yards. All proceeds of the cleats campaign benefited the PFF.
More recently, Howard teamed up with the PFF on an eye-catching billboard campaign in Times Square to invite people to learn about Howard’s story and join the fight. The 15-second billboard advertisement can be seen through March 1 at 1500 Broadway and 43rd St. in New York City.
“Our community is inspired by Jordan’s incredible generosity and his ability to turn his personal loss into a passion for finding a cure for this disease,” said Patti Tuomey, PFF’s president and chief executive officer.
In related news, the PFF is now organizing its fourth biennial international healthcare conference, the PFF Summit 2017, which will take place in Nashville, Tenn., Nov. 9-11. For more information about the summit, you can call (844) 825.5733, or +1.312.587.9272, if you live outside the U.S.
