Thursday, November 22, 2001
Bengals' Anderson feeds spirit of generosity
Lineman considers himself a 'tool for God'
By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer
For Willie Anderson, Thanksgiving isn't a day just to overeat. It's a mindset as much as a holiday for the Bengals offensive tackle, a reminder to be generous and grateful throughout the year.
On Tuesday, back home in Mobile, Ala., for the second consecutive year, 2,000 people ate a Thanksgiving meal provided by Anderson in a tent outside of Whitestone Baptist Church. Elderly and low-income people then took home turkeys purchased by Anderson.
They are gestures Anderson has made at his Cincinnati church, New Jerusalem Baptist in Carthage, where he has given away hundreds of turkeys and thousands of sweaters in past years.
“Growing up, you think of Thanksgiving as a day when you get with your family and eat to capacity, but the more you grow up and see, I see how God has blessed me in my life, I feel it's a time we should be giving back,” An derson said.
Nominated by the Bengals in 2000 for the NFL Man of the Year Award, Anderson gives 12 months a year.
He sponsors several events through the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Cincinnati, donating Bengals game tickets and his private suite at Paul Brown Stadium to needy children. Hundreds of children have been treated to a day at Bengals training camp in Georgetown, Ky., through Anderson's Highway 71 program, which refers to his uniform number and his job of clearing the way for running backs.
Anderson supports Halloween and Christmas parties at Children's Hospital. He sponsors a youth football league team.
His Cincinnati pastor, the Rev. Damon Lynch Jr., of New Jerusalem, says Anderson's generosity matches his 6-foot-5, 340-pound frame.
“He's a huge specimen of a man and has a heart as huge as his body,” Lynch said. “He has endeared himself to me, the congregation and the community. I hope he makes his home in Cincinnati after his playing days.”
Anderson goes to New Jerusalem for his spiritual needs, attending Bible study and worship on Wednesday night. He can't make it to church on Sunday because he works.
In turn, Anderson employs the church's outreach programs to get to as many needy people as possible.
“I see myself as a tool for God and a means for the church as a place to go for help,” he said. “A lot of times people get caught up in the church being a place that wants and wants. This way the church is a place that helps.”
Anderson grew up in what he calls a “lower middle-class” household in Whistler, Ala., but his mother and stepfather — Mary Steele and her late husband, Thomas Steele — set an example of giving that has stuck.
“I wasn't as bad off as most people,” Anderson said. “I had a home, but I went without a lot. I've seen my mom and stepdad giving people their last, for the good of it, knowing if you do it out of the goodness of your heart (that) your needs will be taken care of.
“I give and give until I can't give any more, and some people think I give too much. But I disagree. I think I'll receive my blessings somewhere.”
The Bengals will practice this morning at the stadium. Then Anderson will drive to his local home, where his mother and another 13 family members will be waiting to have Thanksgiving dinner.
A few of Anderson's Bengals teammates who have no family here also will come over. He remembers how lonely he was during his second year with the Ben gals in 1997 when he had no family to spend the day with.
“I'm having the turkey and ham catered here, but they're bringing the food on the plane with them,” he said. “Everybody's going to have one carry-on item. I hope they make it through security.”
Anderson will sit back and enjoy the scene of family and friends on Thanksgiving, just as his spirit will be warmed by the thought of needy people in Alabama having a dinner they might have gone without.
“If you're blessed to be in a position to help people out,” he said, “you really should be helping them out.”
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Bengals' Anderson feeds spirit of generosity