Sooners for Haiti -- The 2012 Story

A group of student-athletes from the University of Oklahoma set aside their love of sports in exchange for an orphanage in the heart of Haiti. (Jordan Roby)

With college football season approaching, we have heard so much bad about some college football programs this summer that I thought today I would share what is good about today's college athletes.
During spring break, some members of The University of Oklahoma football and women's basketball teams took a trip to Haiti in support of the Mission of Hope.  This is the third year for OU athletes to participate --  now the video from the trip has been released:

Sooners for Haiti: the 2012 story from Jordan Roby on Vimeo.

Kenny Mossman, OU Senior Associate Athletics Director for External Operations, accompanied this group of Sooner from the Football and Women's Basketball teams.  This is not a sanctioned trip of the University but a voluntary one by these athletes to give up their spring break to give back.  To watch these young athletes sing along in English to the same songs these children are singing in Spanish to praise the Lord you realize that we are all in this together and anytime we can make this a better Country or a better World we need seize the moment and help others less fortunate.

OU is the only Division I school where some of our athletes spend their spring break in Haiti -- maybe this will be get other college athletes to make visits to Haiti to help out under the sponsorship of a local church.  In the case of OU, it is Journey Church who is the sponsor.

To see these Haitian children  so happy to see the Sooners visit brings tears to your eyes.  It makes you realize how fortunate we are to be born in America when you see the pictures from Haiti with all the poverty and the damage from the earthquake you can still see today.  Maybe one day some of these Haitian children will come to the University of Oklahoma to get an education and make a better life for their Country after these visits from the Sooner athletes.

In America you can grow up in poverty, go to a public school, and use athletics to go to college.  A lot of teachers and coaches in public high schools across America are responsible for getting a lot of these kids into college -- that is why when you hear the Football Hall of Fame speeches when NFL players are inducted, it always goes back to their teachers and coaches in the public schools along with their faith which is very important to them.   We see these college athletes witness for their religion all the time.  They mentor in our schools and create programs to give back to the young children in our own community.

With all the negativity and hate we see in politics today, decided to take a break and post this article about a great bunch of college athletes and their trip to Haiti last spring.