Andre Johnson stopped drawing an NFL paycheck when he retired in October, but he’s not done using his money to do good.
Today at a toy store in Houston, Johnson did what he has done for the last nine years: He asked Houston Child Protective Services to bring together a group of children who have had a rough year and deserve a special Christmas, and he footed the bill for whatever toys they could grab while running through the store for 80 seconds. (Johnson wore No. 80 during his NFL career.) This year the bill for 12 kids came to $19,144.58, and after Johnson finished paying he posed with the receipts, which were as tall as he is.
Johnson said he sees a lot of himself in the kids who come to his annual toy drive.
“When you grow up in certain situations you kind of understand so, there were times when I was not able to get what I wanted for Christmas. So I know that a lot kids don’t get what they want for Christmas. This idea was brought to me and I just kind of took it and ran with it,” Johnson told ABC 13 in Houston.
After Johnson retired, there were discussions of whether he’s had a Hall of Fame career. There’s no doubt that he’s a Hall of Fame person.