Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Diplomacy or Submission? The Zionist Grip on US Political Power and Trump’s Uneasy Alliance With Netanyahu

3 days ago

Fresno Suspect Caught After Jumping Out of Second-Floor Window, 2 Others Arrested

3 days ago

Tesla Has Applied to Arizona for Robotaxi Service Certification, State Transport Department Says

3 days ago

Evacuations Ongoing as San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Scorches Tens of Thousands of Acres

3 days ago

US Senate to Vote on Trump Aid, Broadcasting Cuts as Deadline Looms

3 days ago

US Health Department Widens Immigrant Benefit Restrictions

3 days ago

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect in Stabbing That Left Man Critically Injured

3 days ago

Madera County Authorities Seek Next of Kin for North Fork Man

3 days ago

Froot Loops Maker WK Kellogg Agrees to $3.1 Billion Deal From Italy’s Ferrero

3 days ago

China Signals Willingness to Sell Fighter Jets as Iran Eyes J-10 Aircraft

3 days ago
NFL Star J.J. Watt’s Generous Heart Stretches to Fresno
By Myles Barker
Published 7 years ago on
July 24, 2018

Share

Students at Fresno’s Tehipite Middle School have a special reason to cheer Houston Texans’ star defensive end J.J. Watt this coming football season.
The J.J. Watt Foundation donated nearly $20,000 to the school in southeast Fresno for new uniforms, protective gear and other essential equipment for six of its sports teams.

“A huge heartfelt and sincere thanks from the bottom of our Bobcat hearts. The J.J. Watt Foundation has made our dreams come true.” — Tehipite Middle School post Facebook page
“A huge heartfelt and sincere thanks from the bottom of our Bobcat hearts. The J.J. Watt Foundation has made our dreams come true,” Tehipite Middle School said on its Facebook page. “Words can’t express how much this means to our amazing student athletes.”
Miguel Arias, the chief information officer for Fresno Unified School District, said it was generous of Watt’s foundation to care about kids and schools that are not easily able to raise money to replace their uniforms.
“This foundation has allowed our kids to be at par with some of the more affluent schools that can rely on booster clubs for uniform replacement,” Arias said. “We appreciate it, it is an awesome thing.”

Watt Raised $37 Million for Hurricane Harvey Relief

Watt, a three-time NFL defensive player of the year, is perhaps best known for his efforts in helping to raise over $37 million for Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. In 2017, Sports Illustrated named Watt its Sportsperson of the Year. He also received the NFL’s 2017 Walter Payton Man Of The Year Award.

How Tehipite Received the Grant

Amy Idsvoog, the communications analyst for FUSD, said the school’s athletic department applied for grant funding in October 2017. She said the department received the first layer of funding in January of this year, and the rest in late spring. The grant totaled $19,891.85.
“The new gear sparked a number of social media posts in January,” Idsvoog said. “There’s been athletic events where some people have even tagged the J.J. Watt Foundation on Facebook and Twitter because of the new uniforms.”


Although Watt is originally from Wisconsin, it is not unusual for his foundation, a 501c(3), to help out communities around the country.

The Foundation’s Mission

The main mission of the J.J. Watt Foundation is to help schools that have insufficient funding for after-school athletic programs or have no after-school athletics whatsoever.

“We want them to be able to have fun and enjoy playing sports with their peers, but at the same time, we want to help lay a solid foundation of characteristics on which they may build the rest of their life.” — J.J. Watt Foundation
“The ultimate goal for this foundation is to provide an opportunity for kids to be kids,” the foundation says on its website. “We want them to be able to have fun and enjoy playing sports with their peers, but at the same time, we want to help lay a solid foundation of characteristics on which they may build the rest of their life.”
According to the website, the J.J. Watt Foundation has provided funding in excess of $4 million to middle school after-school athletic programs and organizations. So far in 2018, the foundation has donated $336,792.87 to youth athletic programs in Texas, Florida, Missouri, Oklahoma, New York, and other states.
For more information on how to apply for funding, visit www.jjwfoundation.org.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

US Online Spending Surges $24.1 Billion as Steep Discounts Boost Sales, Adobe Says

DON'T MISS

Trump Threatens to Revoke Rosie O’Donnell’s US Citizenship

DON'T MISS

Trump Intensifies Trade War With Threat of 30% Tariffs on EU, Mexico

DON'T MISS

Trump’s Attorney General Drops Fraud Case Tied to COVID Vaccinations

DON'T MISS

Homeland Security’s Noem Says in Talks With Five Republican-Led States to Build Detention Site

DON'T MISS

Clovis Police Say Teen Changed Clothes, Hid After Reckless Riding Pursuit

DON'T MISS

Gaza Truce Talks Faltering Over Withdrawal, 17 Reported Killed in Latest Shooting Near Aid

DON'T MISS

Fresno Dog Left Behind After Owners Die Months Apart, Now Needs a Home

DON'T MISS

Frazier Defends $894K Pay as Nonprofit Loses $1.1M, Blames City for Financial Struggles

DON'T MISS

Key Events in the Air India Crash Investigation

UP NEXT

Fresno Dog Left Behind After Owners Die Months Apart, Now Needs a Home

UP NEXT

Fresno Police to Target Speeding in Saturday Traffic Operation

UP NEXT

Madera County Authorities Searching for Felony Theft Suspect

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Billy Ray Maldonaldo

UP NEXT

Madera Hospital in Full Swing With New Permanent CEO

UP NEXT

Which Fresno State Faculty Projects Are CSU’s AI Challenge Winners?

UP NEXT

Paving, Power, and Politics: Measure C Committee Faces Shakeup

UP NEXT

Clovis Man Killed in Fresno County Crash After Running Stop Sign

UP NEXT

Madera County Authorities Seek Public’s Help Finding Next of Kin for Man Who Died in Hospital

UP NEXT

Fresno Teens Arrested in Violent Assaults That Injured Two Men, Including Elderly Victim

Trump’s Attorney General Drops Fraud Case Tied to COVID Vaccinations

1 day ago

Homeland Security’s Noem Says in Talks With Five Republican-Led States to Build Detention Site

1 day ago

Clovis Police Say Teen Changed Clothes, Hid After Reckless Riding Pursuit

1 day ago

Gaza Truce Talks Faltering Over Withdrawal, 17 Reported Killed in Latest Shooting Near Aid

1 day ago

Fresno Dog Left Behind After Owners Die Months Apart, Now Needs a Home

2 days ago

Frazier Defends $894K Pay as Nonprofit Loses $1.1M, Blames City for Financial Struggles

2 days ago

Key Events in the Air India Crash Investigation

2 days ago

Fresno Police to Target Speeding in Saturday Traffic Operation

2 days ago

Tulare County Man Sentenced for Fatal DUI Crash That Took Mother, Daughter’s Lives

2 days ago

US Judge Grants Trump Admin Request to Scrap Biden-Era Medical Debt Rule

2 days ago

US Online Spending Surges $24.1 Billion as Steep Discounts Boost Sales, Adobe Says

Online spending soared $24.1 billion across U.S. retailers during the stretch from July 8 to 11 – dubbed “Black Friday in Summer”...

1 day ago

Packages are transported on a conveyor belt at the Amazon warehouse on Prime Day, in Melville, New York, U.S., July 11, 2023. (Reuters File)
1 day ago

US Online Spending Surges $24.1 Billion as Steep Discounts Boost Sales, Adobe Says

Presenter Rosie O'Donnell speaks on stage about Madonna during the 30th annual GLAAD awards ceremony in New York City, New York, U.S., May 4, 2019. (Reuters File)
1 day ago

Trump Threatens to Revoke Rosie O’Donnell’s US Citizenship

U.S. President Donald Trump gestures to the U.S. flag flying on a new flagpole after stepping off Marine One returning from New Jersey at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 6, 2025. (Reuters/Ken Cedeno)
1 day ago

Trump Intensifies Trade War With Threat of 30% Tariffs on EU, Mexico

Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks to the media in the Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington D.C., June 27, 2025. (Reuters File)
1 day ago

Trump’s Attorney General Drops Fraud Case Tied to COVID Vaccinations

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference to discuss the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s "National Farm Security Action Plan", outside the USDA in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 8, 2025. (Reuters File)
1 day ago

Homeland Security’s Noem Says in Talks With Five Republican-Led States to Build Detention Site

1 day ago

Clovis Police Say Teen Changed Clothes, Hid After Reckless Riding Pursuit

A Palestinian man from the Katoo family, with his son, mourns beside the body of his other son, who was killed by Israeli fire while seeking aid near a distribution point in Rafah, according to medics, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, July 12, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
1 day ago

Gaza Truce Talks Faltering Over Withdrawal, 17 Reported Killed in Latest Shooting Near Aid

After losing both of his owners, a 5-year-old cattle dog named Ozzy found a second chance at happiness thanks to a local rescue group and a loving foster home. (Mell's Mutts)
2 days ago

Fresno Dog Left Behind After Owners Die Months Apart, Now Needs a Home

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend