Every year, when WWE rolls into town for week-long WrestleMania events in March or April and SummerSlam events in August, the company goes on a “Community Caravan,” where they send Superstars and ambassadors to a slew of charity and community events. They partner with national and local nonprofits to make sure they support and uplift those in need, often with a large emphasis on children and military families.
We got to see the Community Caravan in action at this year’s WrestleMania, when we were lucky enough to watch Superstars like Sami Zayn, Titus O’Neil, and Ember Moon play dodgeball with kids at an Orlando-area neighborhood center. We also, more recently, got to tag along to some SummerSlam events in New York City, including a Hire Heroes networking event, and a Make-A-Wish surprise at the top of One World Trade Center.
But that’s not all WWE did in New York. They hosted a Special Olympics Unified basketball game, teamed with Boys and Girls Clubs to present a Be A STAR bullying prevention rally, sent a half-dozen Superstars to the Brooklyn children’s hospital, and presented a yoga event in conjunction with Susan G. Komen. That’s a full week.
When you sign with WWE, part of your job involved getting involved with charities and the community, so we wanted to talk to some of the Superstars to ask them just what it means to them that they are able to spend so much of their time getting up close and personal with the fans who might be the most in need of assistance, or just in need of cheering up.
AJ Styles: I think that it makes your job better, you know what I’m saying? For one day, you get to help kids forget about what’s going on in their life, and even their parents, and putting smiles on kids’ faces. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about. We work hard, and it’s exhausting, but this right here will put a smile on anyone’s face.
Dolph Ziggler: It’s great, because there are some companies that don’t have to do it. And not only do we get to do it, we get to have troops coming to our shows. We get to take over a city for a week, like New York, and go all around town and meet all the great fans, and give back to the city. It’s weird; we don’t really have a home. We’re constantly bouncing around every night. SummerSlam and WrestleMania is the only time we get a few days in the same city, and we make it our home. And not only do we just take over and have fun; it’s about giving back to the community. And that’s just what keeps us all going.
Mark Henry: I look forward every year to [Hire Heroes] and other [events] like it. Just for the simple fact that I get to shake hands, and touch the men and women of our military and ask them questions. I think it’s a great thing.
Nikki Bella: One of the best things about this job is giving back. And I think it’s because WWE, the fans give us so much. Without the fans, we would be nothing. We’d have an empty arena, we wouldn’t be larger-than-life characters. So these moments, especially for the kids, to give back to them, and to give them happiness that can take their pain away, just for a couple minutes, or however long it is. [That] means everything to me. Make-A-Wish has such a big part of my heart. I love giving back to the community, but I love giving back to those kids. It means everything.
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Seth Rollins: If we didn’t do this sort of work, we’d really be all for naught. Because this is really what it’s all about, is just inspiring young kids to pursue their dreams, or to just put smiles on faces, you know? And I know that’s the WWE tag line, and everyone thinks it’s corny, but it’s the honest truth. If you’ve been a wrestling fan your whole life, and you have gone to shows, and you’ve been that kid with a smile on his face, you understand how important that is, to give memories to kids. And the fact that we can come up here and do it like this, it doesn’t get any better than that.
And from the other side of the coin, we talked to Brian Stann, a veteran and former UFC fighter who is now CEO of Hire Heroes, a nonprofit that helps veterans find job placement, and directs employers to veterans who are in need of jobs.
Brian Stann, CEO of Hire Heroes: It means a great deal [when WWE gets involved with the community]. It’s companies like this, that choose to invest time, resources, and energy into nonprofits, that help us to grow, and help us to solve legitimate problems. Now we’re helping thousands of veterans and thousands of military spouses find meaningful employment every year, and I don’t think we would have gotten to this level without the help of the WWE.
Events like they’re putting on today; we do this for every major WWE event, and they don’t just do this in this kind of demographic, with this kind of charity. They’re going to have several events [this week], whether it be to help military veterans, to help people overcoming cancer, to help people that are overcoming anything, the WWE gets involved. And it is really inspiring, to see that that is in the fabric of this company. To not only put on great, entertaining events, and have a lot of fun, but then to use the massive success that they’ve had to give back in the community.
