Former Notre Dame WR Chase Claypool Teaming Up to Help Less Fortunate During Covid-19

Notre Dame fans should be somewhat familiar with Cal cornerback Elijah Hicks as he was committed to the Irish before flipping his commitment late in the recruiting cycle. 

Hicks, a California native, wanted to make a difference for kids coming from his background as schools around the nation are shutting down due to the coronavirus, so he started the Intercept Poverty Covid-19 Campaign.

All the funds go directly to No Kid Hungry, which is a non-profit organization. 

“I train with Ashtyn Davis, who played safety at Cal,” former Notre Dame receiver Chase Claypool told ISD on Friday night. “We’re pretty good friends out here and Elijah was his teammate. Ashtyn just shared it with some of us and asked if we wanted to do it. I thought it was a good idea to use my platform to try to make a difference.” 

Claypool joined up with Myles Bryant (Washington), Terrell Burgess (Utah), Cam Bynum (Cal), Davis (Cal), Jevon Holland (Oregon) and Keith Taylor (Washington) on this fundraiser and it started with the quick video. 

“He sent me a text and I sent him the video not too long after,” explained Claypool. “It seemed like a really good idea. It was simple to do as I had to just make a quick video. 

“I don’t want to take any of Elijah’s credit, but I just wanted to use my platform and Elijah gave me the opportunity to help out. Elijah set everything else up in terms of the fundraiser and everything.” 

The Intercept Poverty Covid-19 Campaign has a goal of raising $10,000. It has already reached $7,575.00 as of Saturday morning, which pleases Claypool as the group can see the progress already being made since it kicked off on Wednesday.

“I think a thousand dollars could have helped a lot of people, let alone our goal of $10,000,” stated Claypool. “It’s cool to see what kind of difference you can make by doing something so simple.” 

As many Notre Dame fans know, Claypool didn’t always have it easy growing up in Abbotsford, Canada, and this struck close to home.

Claypool might be training for the biggest day of his life, but he’s already thought about setting up his own foundation in the future to help those in need.

I’ve always thought about helping the less fortunate, whether it’s the homeless community or younger kids,” Claypool said. “I was less fortunate growing up and for a big portion of my life. I can relate to that pretty well.” 

The 6-foot-4, 238-pounder is currently training in California and his spirits are high despite his future being more unknown than he expected it to be at this point in the draft process. 

“I had a lot of meetings and workouts set up with teams,” stated Claypool. “I figured it would help me a lot because I would test well. It could have helped me raise my draft stock, so now the coronavirus has canceled them, it probably hurts my stock a little bit as I can’t ascend up the board.”

Claypool might be a little more relaxed than others after dominating the NFL Combine a month ago and that’s allowed him to focus on lending a helping hand.

“I’m not in a situation where I had a bad Combine and needed Pro Day,” said Claypool. “I’m thankful everything worked out at the Combine. I feel bad for the guys who were waiting to prove themselves at Pro Day.

“If they do let us take the visits, I’m sure it will be right before the draft. Everything’s been canceled so far. I’m just taking it by the day as it’s new for everyone.” 

More about the Intercept Poverty COVID-19 Campaign:

Mission: To make sure low-income families can afford to keep students home
from school by providing financial assistance for food during this Coronavirus
pandemic.

Problem: Many families are lacking resources to prepare and protect against
COVID-19, many of these people face a higher risk of contracting and spreading
the virus.

• Majority of low-income jobs don't offer paid sick days
• According to 2019 Federal reserve study, 40% of Americans could not come up with $400 to cover an emergency
• Low-income people are way more likely to be uninsured or underinsured for medical care
• Shutting down schools has unintended effects on low-income families
• Many low-income children rely on free and reduced school breakfast and lunches for their daily nutrition
• Parents can't always afford child care especially when their school-age kid is supposed to be in school
• As many schools transition to online learning, there are millions of households that lack access to high-speed internet.