Chris Long decided to create the Waterboys charity after a trip to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. The organization started a Conquering Kili initiative to incorporate that fact as part of its fundraising goals. The charity and the climb landed the Waterboys on ESPN SportsCenter this week.
As part of the SportsCenter Stars of the Night segment, anchor Lisa Kerney highlighted Long and the charity plus the climb up Mount Kilimanjaro. Check it out:
The Waterboys organization brings together athletes from across the NFL to raise money and awareness to bring clean water to people in East Africa. The charity raises money to build wells in Tanzania, home of Mount Kilimanjaro. To date, the charity has funded 23 wells in the country and is closing in on complete funds for the next one. The ultimate goal is to install at least 32 wells to represent each of the 32 NFL teams. If you’re interested, donate here.
You can read an article about the Waterboys charity from Chris Long himself from The Players’ Tribune here. The current roster of Waterboys includes Long, his brother Kyle Long, Nate Boyer, Connor Barwin, Johnny Hekker, T.J. Lang, Chad Greenway, Taylor Lewan, Brian Cushing, Calais Campbell, Jared Odrick, Anquan Boldin, and James Laurinaitis. You can check out other UVA player sites and charities on this Sabre.com page.
Of note, the segment has a UVA connection by marriage as well. Lisa Kerney is married to another star defensive end from Virginia, Patrick Kerney. The former Cavalier worked after retiring from football as the NFL Vice President of Player Benefits and NFL Legends Operations and now as part of NFC Investments.
