COLUMN: Blake Corum's toy drives proves that human kindness is undefeated
If you walked through the Somerset Collection on Saturday, you would understand the immense impact that Blake Corum's toy drive had. Lines wrapped around a mall that does not consider itself small in size.
Secret tunnels within the mall were lined with Michigan fans with toys in tow hoping to get a glimpse of Blake Corum and a handful of his teammates, perhaps even taking a picture if they were lucky enough to get through the throngs of people. For some, the lines were too immense and some fans left without meeting Corum and his teammates but had to drop off their donations at donation points near the stage.
To say the event was a success would undersell the results.
Speaking to those working the events, the estimates suggest that at least two box trucks worth of donations would be made during the event. Corum himself said anywhere between 20,000 and 25,000 toys will be donated within the state of Michigan and Haiti to honor Mike Sainristil and Junior Colson who were born there.
On top of that, according to someone at the event, the charity has never seen the level of donations it received on Saturday.
The numerous full-sized bikes, Barbie playhouses and mounds of toys set up under the Christmas trees on the stage weren't for show, they will go to deserving homes looking for a brighter holiday season this year.
While Corum continues to show how special of a human being he is with a generous heart, the event also proves that the spirit of giving and human kindness remains undefeated through it all, just like the football program remains undefeated on the field.
It's never been about the headlines either. It's never been about the columns such as this one praising the impact he's making.
Corum would do all of this even if the spotlight wasn't on him.
The power of NIL can be extremely important. For all of the cases that argue against pay-for-play or even suggest that collegiate athletes should not be able to make money off their name, image and likeness, there are people like Corum out there proving that making money while in college isn't nefarious when done the right way.
Couple that with the seismic number of college football fans out there and the willingness to open their hearts when it comes to charitable endeavors, you have a recipe to create something special like we saw on Saturday.
Corum's event was just a small reminder of what the human spirit can accomplish when faced with a common goal.
In a world that headlines bad people doing bad things, just remember that the spirit of giving and the human spirit prove when it comes to brightening the day of a family in need will always be undefeated.
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