NFL Star & Habitat for Humanity Team Up For A Touchdown

While most professional athletes rest and prepare to have fun on early Saturday mornings, NFL defensive back George Odum reverse that norm by giving back to the Historic Pine Street community. Last Saturday, George Odum teamed up with Habitat of Humanity of Faulkner County in Conway, Arkansas to help rebuild and redesign a local community.

Odum and Habitat of Humanity of Faulkner County collaborated in helping an area in Faulkner County.

Photo taken by Derrian Carter.

Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity in Faulkner County, Arkansas Shenel Sandidge appreciated Odum’s mentorship and help saying that “it was admirable how George came and gave back to the community that helped propel his start to the NFL,” citing that Odum lived in the Faulkner area for four years before going pro. Odum attended the University of Central Arkansas for four years before going undrafted to the Indianapolis Colts.

Although he is making plays for the National Football League, he still is conscious of what is occurring in his community. When asked why he wanted to collaborate with Habitat, he said “he always gives back to a community that is in need.” Not only does he give back to the community, but he uplifts and encourages others who are aiding the community. He preaches hard work and “working smarter, not harder” when it comes to accomplishing tasks.

“Hard working, detailed, loving,” Odum said are the words that describes who he is as a person. He went on to say that hard work is going to help him later in life that is why he continues to push himself to his limits now. Moreover, he believes that the little details count because it displays that he is willing to go the extra mile, and he is loving because he feels that “there’s no better feeling than to help somebody.” To further motivate himself to be the best version of himself, Odum carries around a “Why” card, which details why he does what he does. On the card, it has his parents and siblings as one of the three components that keeps him focus and reassured.

Odum, Habitat and other local high school football teams in the Faulkner County area came together and cleaned up three houses, two abandoned sheds and picked up trash around the neighborhood. All parties helped to clean several houses in the community which included: prepping houses for installation of new walls and rehabbing and clearing out a burned abandoned house filled with debris. In addition, they cleaned up a historic cemetery with graves dating back to the 1800s and executed a neighborhood cleanup around the neighborhood.

Sandidge acknowledged that Odum’s participation helped inspire the local teams present, saying that “an NFL star coming back to help the community that raised him will help reinforce that no matter how great they become, they should always come back and give back to the community that helped raised them.”