Michigan RB Blake Corum Again Uses NIL Money To Buy Thanksgiving Dinners For Families in Ypsilianti
There are college players who choose to use their NIL money for personal needs and wants, and then there are those players who use their platform - and sudden wealth - to help those in need.
This week, while we give thanks for things we have, Michigan running back Blake Corum is LITERALLY using his NIL money to deliver Thanksgiving to the people of Ypsilanti.
Corum left this past weekend's game against Illinois with a knee injury, so there were (and maybe still are) concerns that he might be sidelined leading into the end of the season. But Corum wasn't going to let that stop him from a second year of handing out meals, and less than 24 hours after the game, he was in Ypsilanti making it happen.
Corum used his first year of NIL eligibility in 2021 to do the same good deed, buying 100 turkeys to give out to families in need.
This year, using the "Giving Back 2 Give Thanks" philanthropy project, he upped the ante, giving away 300 Turkey dinners. Corum bought half of them, and the other half was donated by Washtenaw County My Brother's Keeper.
There were also donations from the United Dairy Industry of Michigan and Guernsey Farms Dairy. A Michigan student, Emily Eitzman, donated knitted hats, with the elogo from CLR Academy on them, which is where Corum has volunteered to work with children in the past.
Speaking with The Detroit News, Corum said he's happy to do it.
"It's a blessing to be able to give back to my community. Like I always tell everyone, Thanksgiving is a time where people can relax, sit back, and get away from real-world problems and laugh and have fun.
"That's why Thanksgiving means a lot to me and giving back means a lot to me. It's important. The world we live in is a crazy world, but if we can all find a way to stick together, and smile, and be happy through the good, through the bad times, it will be a better world. That's what I"m trying to do. That's what I'm bringing into other peoples' lives."
Corum wanted this Sunday's publicity to be about his meal deliveries, but one couldn't help but ask... what about the knee?
"It's good. My knee is good. I'll be fine. I'll be back."
WHEW... it's a Thanksgiving Miracle... but also, the dinners he's giving away... that's good, too.
Congrats Blake on making the world a better place.