NEW YORK – When Mets star player Francisco Lindor announced a charity campaign to help the homeless community, many people admired him… but there was also a lot of criticism when they learned that he had spent $660,000 and continued to raise another $1.5 million from the community. However, the story behind that number left fans speechless with emotion.
According to a report from the campaign management team, Lindor not only donated $660,000 of his own money, but also covered a series of logistics, transportation and temporary housing costs for more than 120 people over 3 months – an act that is often kept hidden from the media.
“I don’t do this for praise. I do it because I saw myself in their eyes,” Lindor said at a press conference on Friday.
The charity aims to build mobile apartments, provide food, medical care and psychological counseling for homeless people in three boroughs of New York. Participants are helped to find temporary jobs and gradually reintegrate into society.
However, criticism began when some netizens said that calling for an additional $1.5 million from the public was unnecessary, especially when Lindor is an athlete who earns tens of millions of dollars a year.
Many fans and humanitarian organizations have spoken out to defend Lindor, affirming that he is one of the few sports stars who dares to take strong actions, not just stop at words or social media posts.
“Lindor used his money—and his heart—to build hope for people who had nothing,” said a volunteer in the Bronx.
Francisco Lindor may be scrutinized by outsiders, but for hundreds of people who once lived under bridges and in makeshift tents, he was the man who gave them a second chance. And that, perhaps, is the most memorable number of the entire campaign.