MAYBE WHAT’S most surprising about
what Ricardo Lockette did after he broke
his neck in ;;;; while playing for the
Seattle Seahawks was what he didn’t do. He
didn’t withdraw, regretting he’d never play
football again. Instead, he pledged to make
his life count, determined to make a difference in other people’s lives.
“I realized that me going into a dark
cave and never coming out isn’t going to
help anybody,” he says. “I’m going to make
other people’s lives better.”
His near-death experience—his neck
was broken and his vertebrae were nearly
detached—changed his focus, making
every day an important day. He constantly
asks himself, “Am I going to waste this day
or am I going to make it great?”
He’s always in pursuit of a purpose.
“You can’t do anything without purpose,”
he says. His purpose is working with the
Seattle Science Foundation on spinal cord
research. One year after his neck injury,
he was at a local hospital to help launch
the Seattle Science Foundation’s spinal
cord research program,
bringing media atten-
tion to the challenge.
In September, he
OUR DIGITAL EDITIONS
Click here to watch Ricardo Lockette
discuss spinal cord injuries at the
Seattle Science Foundation.
(See page 11 for details.)
flew to Africa for ;; days along with doctors who performed spinal surgeries on
people there.
Lockette also helps raise funds for the
care of the homeless. Not long after his
injury, he saw some homeless people on
the street and bought them hamburgers.
He and his daughter recently gave out bags
full of toiletries and lunches to ;;; people.
His foundation (rlockette-;.myshopify.
com) partnered with Junior Achievement
in Atlanta and in Washington state, influencing kids’ lives.
He says his neck injury “left me
blessed.” He’ll never play football again.
But that’s OK. He says, “I feel better about
helping kids than I did knocking people
down for Marshawn Lynch and Russell
Wilson.”—Gail Wood
Ricardo Lockette meets with
Washington state Senate leaders
and staff to donate sports items
for a charity auction.
Retailers donate new, off-season clothing to the organization or offer WPE clothing at a steep discount. Private donations
of clothes are also accepted, but they must
be new or in top condition. Brooks says the
apparel is displayed in beautiful presentations, and hosts greet each guest, helping
them find what they’re searching for.
“From the beginning, Dr. Conner said it
must be done with respect because we’re
not just giving clothing … we’re also uplift-
ing lives. We are treating people with
respect,” says Brooks. She reports that par-
ticipants are given a time slot to visit and
new items are refreshed between each ses-
sion, so the people at the end of the day
aren’t stuck with leftovers.
WPE, which also operates a food
rescue and cold-weather clothing program
for the homeless, hosts about ;; mobile
boutiques each year. Each event draws an
average of ;;; to ;,;;; people. By the end
of ;;;;, they will have organized their
;;th event.—Hana Medina
cord research program,
ia
In September, he
e
be new or in top condition. Brooks says the
b
The pursuit of purpose
STORIES CONTINUED ON PAGE 110
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offers curated clothing
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