HIALEAH, FLA. (WSVN) - In honor of World Kindness Day a high school football player in Miami-Dade County is being recognized for being a leader on and off the field.
He is a remarkable young man — a good student, good athlete and most of all a good guy — and on Monday he received well-earned recognition.
Sometimes we forget how simple and rewarding being kind is, and on World Kindness Day, a Hialeah High School student is being recognized for just that.
“There’s nothing better than being kind to people. It’s free, it’s easy, and you can do it every single day,” said Joe Trost, the Director of Buddy’s Helpers.
Senior Travis Delaney Junior is the quarterback of his school’s football team. He’s also an outfielder on the baseball team and participates in the 5,000 Role Models Program.
Even with his busy schedule, he always finds the time to be kind to his classmates and others in the community.
“Well, Travis makes sure that everyone is accepted. He is inclusive of everybody. Students of special needs, regular students, everybody. He really makes everybody feel welcome and be a part of Hialeah High,” said school principal Ignacio Rodriguez.
Monday’s recognition was made possible by Buddy’s Helpers, an organization that engages and educates student-athletes through the power of sport.
This marks the 95th consecutive month they have honored a student as part of their “Making a difference on and off the field” campaign.
“It’s a blessing and an honor to be honored and be announced and noticed that i make people feel like they matter,” said Delaney Junior.
His mother said he’s never looking for the spotlight and that kindness is in his blood.
“Because I go out of my way to help people no matter what. And I guess he sees it from us and he’s willing to do that. He was born and raised that way, I could say,” his mother Lakeshia Orr said. “I can’t put into words how proud I am of him and the thing he has accomplished and that he’s going to accomplish as he goes on and continues his journey of a life.”
Delaney Junior says he wants to make sure every person is recognized for the effort they put in — even if their role may seem insignificant.
For example, a group of special needs students wash the team’s uniforms as part of the community-based instruction program. He said that their help is a huge part of his on-field success.
“We don’t take it for granted or at least I don’t take it for granted. They come in and wash our practice stuff every day,” said Delaney Junior. “And that is like a real blessing because practice can be really stinky. So just them even washing our clothes every day for practice I make sure they know that what they do is mattering and they play an important role in what we do.”
He also has one message on World Kindness Day: Being kind to someone can go a long way.
“You letting people know that they matter and that you care about them. That could make their day. It can be a big difference in what they do to life, so I just want to influence and let people know that,” he said.
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