After Jennifer Simpson lost her grandfather, she was not only grieving, but the family didn’t have the money to pay for her grandpa’s funeral. It was a painful place for her to be, but something happened that helped; JJ Watt, along with other celebrities and individuals reached out to help pay. Wondering why many, including JJ Watt helped a woman pay for her grandpa’s funeral? Read on.
Why JJ Watt Helped a Woman Pay for Her Grandpa’s Funeral
Jennifer Simpson isn’t on the celebrity scene. She’s just a regular 26-year-old woman who teaches high school English and enjoys her sports. Her profile on Twitter identifies her in this way: “Christ follower. Teacher. 26. Single. Wrestling fan. Texans. Astros. A little shy, a little funny.”
So how did she get on JJ Watt’s radar, as well as other celebs and many in the community?
Sadly, it all started when Simpson’s grandfather passed away and she needed to find some money to help pay for her grandpa’s funeral. She posted to Twitter that she was selling her “womens edition of Reebok shoes size 9” for $60 and her “Watt womens XL Texans Jersey” for $30 to pay for her grandpa’s funeral.
The same night, JJ Watt saw her post and didn’t hesitate. The now Arizona Cardinals defensive end didn’t want Simpson to give up her prized jersey and shoes. That’s how JJ Watt helped a woman pay her grandfather’s funeral service. Check out his empathetic post here:
But JJ Watt’s tweet caught the attention of many others, such as Loni Love, who is a TV Host and a comedian. She agreed when JJ Watt helped a woman pay for her grandpa’s funeral, and asked how she could help, too. Check out her tweet:
Rodney Peete’s wife, Holly, chimed in, as well saying she wanted to contribute, as well:
The next morning, Simpson woke up to these celebrity tweets, as well as a bunch of messages from non-celebrities, asking how they could help join in. Simpson was understandably overwhelmed by all the people wanting to help her family.
Simpson recognized all the caring responses started when JJ Watt helped a woman pay for her grandpa’s funeral.
She posted to Twitter, “Thank you JJ Watt so much for your generosity and for starting a movement proving the good in the world. I’m truly grateful for all of y’all.”
So how much financial support did Simpson receive?
Simpson directed people to either give money to the funeral home directly or to herself in a Twitter post on July 21.
Within two days of trying to sell her JJ Watt jersey and shoes, people had donated $5,200 toward Simpson’s grandfather’s funeral.
Simpson explained that the money would be going toward both the funeral services and the cemetery services.
Within five days of her original post, Simpson reported that they had raised nearly all the money they needed to cover all her grandpa’s funeral and burial costs.
And on July 27th, just a week after JJ Watt helped a woman pay himself, as well as getting the word out to others, Simpson celebrated that they had all they needed.
Simpson wrote, “My grandpas funeral is paid in full!! I couldn’t have done it without the help of JJ Watt and all of you wonderful people.”
Simpson then asked that the donations stop.
After JJ Watt helped a woman pay for her grandpa’s funeral, she called him a “walking angel.”
On August 20, Simpson posted to Twitter that her family were finally able to lay her grandfather to rest.
Looking for more inspirational stories of people helping others? Check out our story on a high school principal who worked a second job to help his students.
