The fundraising letter that Baylor School senior Ryan Seaberg sent out this past October pretty much tells the story.
Mailed to extended family and friends, it read in part:
“I was first diagnosed with [Type 1] diabetes at age 2. With your [past] support and the research findings from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, I have grown up healthy. I am a senior in high school at the Baylor School and play defensive end at 6′ 2″ and 235 lbs. I plan on playing football in college. For my senior project this year, my grandfather and I would like to achieve our goal of raising $20,000 for JDRF in our efforts to help other children with diabetes …”
By the way, that’s $20,000 for this year. Over the last 10 years before this one, with a lot of help from his friends, Seaberg’s fundraising skills have pulled in more than $110,000 for JDRF.
So the young man’s long had serious philanthropic game, whether that college football scholarship ever materialized or not.