Former Rutgers star Eric LeGrand poses with the student leaders at Grover Cleveland Middle School in Caldwell who are wearing his ‘Believe’ T-shirt.Ryan Dunleavy | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
CALDWELL — Before the doors to the Grover Cleveland Middle School gymnasium opened, Eric LeGrand saw one faculty member wearing his signature “Believe” T-shirt.
“I like your shirt,” LeGrand said with an appreciative smile.
The former Rutgers football star — who has become a national inspiration for his positivity shown since he was paralyzed during a 2010 game — had no idea the surprise that awaited him.
A few minutes later, LeGrand received a celebrity’s welcome as he navigated his wheelchair through a line of about 60 faculty members all dressed in matching custom black ‘Believe’ shirts.
The shirts were designed and sold last month by Athletes Brand, with proceeds going to Team LeGrand of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation for spinal cord injury research and awareness.
With its order of more than 75 shirts, including those for student leaders, the middle school accounted for a large portion of the $3,100 raised, according to LeGrand.
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“It just goes to show there are good people in this world,” LeGrand said. “Raising money for a good cause and representing with the ‘Believe’ T-shirts.”
With LeGrand already booked as a speaker for the sixth- through eighth-graders, school principal James Brown hatched an idea to show the full amount of support after reading about the origins of the T-shirts and motto.
Brown is a Colonia resident whose son played Pop Warner football and received the Eric LeGrand Award for Courage named after the former Colonia High School star. He also presented LeGrand with a No. 52 jersey — his uniform number at Rutgers — from the Caldwell High School football team.
“I thought it would be a great idea,” Brown said, “going with the message we have here at the middle school of make a difference for others.”
Athletes Brand CEO Kyle Mauch fast-tracked the large order to arrive at the school Wednesday.
LeGrand’s message to the students included these pearls of wisdom:
- “Focus on the things we do have, not what don’t have. If there’s something you do want, work your butt off to get it.”
- “The definition of success is: The peace of mind you get when you did everything you could to be the best you can be.”
- “My purpose in life now is help other people face adversity.”
Ryan Dunleavy may be reached at rdunleavy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rydunleavy. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.
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