Every offseason, Justin Reid works on getting his engineering degree from Stanford. The Houston Texans starting safety, now in his third NFL season, was a full-time online student during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reid was inspired to help other students who needed access to a computer or tablet to continue their education from home. So, he took to Twitter for ideas and caught the attention of H-E-B President Scott McClelland.
Thanks to Twitter, the two connected and pledged to donate tablets to ten Houston-area medical students. With the partnership, Reid and McClelland pledged ten tablets, to be awarded to ten medical students in cooperation with several Texas Medical Center hospitals.
"This is a challenging year for many," Reid said. "Our medical professionals risk their lives daily and these students are on their way to being difference-makers in our community. I wanted to support them in their journey. Technology is crucial, it is how we function daily, and I know it will help these students to help others and to be their best."
According to the press release, students submitted videos describing their journey in the field of medicine and how they would put a new tablet to use. With an overwhelming response, the Houston Texans and Reid reached out to Microsoft. The tech company matched Reid's generosity and he was able to donate a total of 20 tablets.
"Growing up, I've had a lot of help from mentors, people I've looked up to big brothers, both blood and not blood, looking out for me and showing me and giving me a role model to look up to and just a lending hand whenever I needed it," Reid said in an April interview with Texans TV. "So the biggest thing for me to pay homage to what the people before me have done for me is I want to be able to do that for other people. So that's why philanthropy's always been a big part of me. I love working with kids."
Always active in the community, Reid recently donated $6,500 to Kid's Meals Houston and packed snack bags for the children in the Houston community during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also volunteers with Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Family Alliance in Houston.
