Note: The following appears in the Boston College gameday football program.
Senior offensive lineman and two-time national champion Sean Pollard is contributing much more than just keeping the defense away from his quarterback. Shortly after his freshman year, Pollard was doing community service with the team when he realized he had a chance to create something incredible.
“I felt like God was calling me to do something a little different. I love serving. I came from a serving family that always tried to put others before themselves.”
Pollard’s family is strong in its faith, and he believes God was making an effort to reach out to him and accomplish something together. It was then that he got in touch with Jessie Carroll, who was a coordinator of the P.A.W. Journey program at the time. P.A.W Journey is a program-wide initiative for Clemson football that encourages student-athletes and coaches alike to become the best leaders and role models they can be off the field.
Carroll put Pollard in touch with Clement’s Kindness, an organization that provides support to families with children suffering from pediatric cancer. After walking around the facilities for hours and mingling with the children, whose ages ranged from newborn to 18 years old, Pollard noted that each kid had a different energy about them, meaning that some were looking to talk and have conversations, while others were more inclined to keep to themselves and stay rested. That did not stop Pollard from seeing the impact he was making across the board.
“Even the kids who didn’t want to talk…just my position being on the football team brought a smile to their face and lightened them up.”
After his meetings with the children, parents approached him to thank him for stopping by, and in some cases, they claimed his presence brought their child their first smile in days.
The Jackson Springs, N.C. native was deeply moved by the experience.
“Once I left, I sat in my truck and cried. I cried the entire ride back from Greenville. I said, ‘God, tell me what you want me to do,’ and that’s when we started All Off for Cancer.”
All Off for Cancer is a fundraising event where the football players have their heads shaved by kids in order to raise money for the families dealing with pediatric cancer. It started out with about 10 people and 20 kids ready to dehair the willing Tigers.
“These kids were gashing us…hair all messed up. Before it ended, I took off to the bathroom and took a disposable razor and shaved my head. I came out bleeding because it was so sharp, but it raised $10,000 that year.”
The following year, Pollard got other teams involved, citing Tanner Dieterich and Nolan Lennon of the Tiger men’s soccer team as the frontrunners alongside him.
Over the two years, the event raised $23,000 for the families. It is important to Pollard that the money does not go to research, but towards helping these families directly, given all their expenses and time commitments.
Pollard has no intention to slow down his charity work once his days at Clemson come to an end. His ultimate goal is to reach the NFL, where he can grow his following and eventually make the organization his own.
However, football is not what keeps him invested in his cause. If a professional career on the football field is not in his future, he would look to bring his charity work to his next opportunity.
“Whatever situation I’m in, I’m going to grow my organization and make it better. You can’t go wrong with charity, right?”