Furrey's fame is a blessing to many others
By Rob Oller
The Columbus Dispatch
One question tires the otherwise always-energized Mike Furrey: when someone asks how he finds time to reach out to the underprivileged and undervalued, the dying and the despondent.
To Furrey, it is like inquiring how he finds time to breathe. There is no thought given to it. See a need, fill it. Simple as that.
That selfless attitude explains why the Cleveland Browns receiver/safety, who lives in West Jefferson, deflects credit for the charitable acts he carries out in Columbus, Cleveland and Detroit, where the seven-year NFL veteran spent three seasons before signing with the Browns as a free agent last May. It also explains why he feels honored but humbled to be one of three finalists for the NFL's Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. The award recognizes a player's community service and playing excellence.
Furrey started on both offense and defense for Cleveland, catching 23 passes for 170 yards and making 14 tackles and two passes defended.
As Furrey described it, there is something slightly unsettling about being rewarded for something that should be as reflexive as an eye-blink. A man of deep faith, the 32-year-old native of Galion, Ohio, who attended Hilliard when it was one high school, said his mandate from God is to serve others, not be served. With that in mind, he and his wife, Koren, immerse themselves in outreach activities that include visiting cancer patients in hospitals to ministering to orphans in the Dominican Republic. He is involved in the Cleveland Foodbank and Cleveland Clinic Rehab Hospital.
In Columbus, Furrey partners with Nationwide Children's Hospital and the Basket of Hope program that provides inspirational materials to children and their families affected by cancer or other serious illnesses. He also visits central Ohio schools in conjunction with the Children's Hunger Alliance, which provides nutritional and educational resources for many of the state's estimated 500,000 at-risk children.
The numerous needs can seem overwhelming, which is why Furrey is underwhelmed by the question of how he manages to carve out time not only for himself but for his wife, three children, a foreign exchange student and three dogs.
"Our window of opportunity is limited. The average is three years in this league, so there's a small window to have an effect," he said, explaining that the NFL affords him a prominent platform by which he can use his celebrity to help others.
Such was the case with Kory Wiita, a senior football player from Medina Highland High School who was paralyzed by a spinal injury during a game in October.
When the Browns recognized Furrey with the Ed Block award for courage, compassion and community service, he gave it to Wiita with the message that the Highland senior showed more courage than Furrey ever could.
"He signed the award and said he thought Kory deserved it," said Kory's dad, Tom. "After (Browns) practice he would come and hang out with Kory, or go hang with the sick kids who have cancer."
It is during those hospital visits that Furrey realizes how blessed he is.
"Every time I walk out of a hospital or boys home, the first thing that hits you is that it humbles you; you're thankful for what you've been given," he said. "The second thing is how many kids out there just need an adult to come into their life. And we have the opportunity to do that. To heal them with a smile."
Furrey makes the final point that it's not about spending money on people. It's about spending time.
"Listening to the less fortunate. Crying with them. Hearing their voices, just to let them know you care," he said. "And anybody can do it."
Even those who call themselves nobodies. True need seldom notices who comes as its angel of mercy.
Furrey learns Sunday in Miami whether he, Washington linebacker London Fletcher or Kansas City guard Brian Waters wins the Payton Award.
An award for having the time of his life?
"I've already won, man," he said. "I've already won."
The Columbus Dispatch
One question tires the otherwise always-energized Mike Furrey: when someone asks how he finds time to reach out to the underprivileged and undervalued, the dying and the despondent.
To Furrey, it is like inquiring how he finds time to breathe. There is no thought given to it. See a need, fill it. Simple as that.
That selfless attitude explains why the Cleveland Browns receiver/safety, who lives in West Jefferson, deflects credit for the charitable acts he carries out in Columbus, Cleveland and Detroit, where the seven-year NFL veteran spent three seasons before signing with the Browns as a free agent last May. It also explains why he feels honored but humbled to be one of three finalists for the NFL's Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. The award recognizes a player's community service and playing excellence.
Furrey started on both offense and defense for Cleveland, catching 23 passes for 170 yards and making 14 tackles and two passes defended.
As Furrey described it, there is something slightly unsettling about being rewarded for something that should be as reflexive as an eye-blink. A man of deep faith, the 32-year-old native of Galion, Ohio, who attended Hilliard when it was one high school, said his mandate from God is to serve others, not be served. With that in mind, he and his wife, Koren, immerse themselves in outreach activities that include visiting cancer patients in hospitals to ministering to orphans in the Dominican Republic. He is involved in the Cleveland Foodbank and Cleveland Clinic Rehab Hospital.
In Columbus, Furrey partners with Nationwide Children's Hospital and the Basket of Hope program that provides inspirational materials to children and their families affected by cancer or other serious illnesses. He also visits central Ohio schools in conjunction with the Children's Hunger Alliance, which provides nutritional and educational resources for many of the state's estimated 500,000 at-risk children.
The numerous needs can seem overwhelming, which is why Furrey is underwhelmed by the question of how he manages to carve out time not only for himself but for his wife, three children, a foreign exchange student and three dogs.
"Our window of opportunity is limited. The average is three years in this league, so there's a small window to have an effect," he said, explaining that the NFL affords him a prominent platform by which he can use his celebrity to help others.
Such was the case with Kory Wiita, a senior football player from Medina Highland High School who was paralyzed by a spinal injury during a game in October.
When the Browns recognized Furrey with the Ed Block award for courage, compassion and community service, he gave it to Wiita with the message that the Highland senior showed more courage than Furrey ever could.
"He signed the award and said he thought Kory deserved it," said Kory's dad, Tom. "After (Browns) practice he would come and hang out with Kory, or go hang with the sick kids who have cancer."
It is during those hospital visits that Furrey realizes how blessed he is.
"Every time I walk out of a hospital or boys home, the first thing that hits you is that it humbles you; you're thankful for what you've been given," he said. "The second thing is how many kids out there just need an adult to come into their life. And we have the opportunity to do that. To heal them with a smile."
Furrey makes the final point that it's not about spending money on people. It's about spending time.
"Listening to the less fortunate. Crying with them. Hearing their voices, just to let them know you care," he said. "And anybody can do it."
Even those who call themselves nobodies. True need seldom notices who comes as its angel of mercy.
Furrey learns Sunday in Miami whether he, Washington linebacker London Fletcher or Kansas City guard Brian Waters wins the Payton Award.
An award for having the time of his life?
"I've already won, man," he said. "I've already won."