Chris Long summits Mt. Kilimanjaro in support of clean water efforts in East Africa

There may not be a more hardworking man in sports than Chris Long, especially in the last few years. Last season, Long helped the New England Patriots win a Super Bowl. In the offseason, he was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles, who just won their first franchise Super Bowl, defeating the Patriots in one of the most exciting games of the season. He finished the season with 28 tackles (20 solo), five sacks, and four forced fumbles.

And he did it all for free.

In September of 2017, Long announced he would be donating his first six game checks to pay for two scholarships at his alma mater, St. Anne’s Belfield in Charlottesville. One month later, Long took it a step further, donating his remaining 10 game checks to “further his support of educational equity.”

Long has been dedicated to helping those less fortunate throughout his career. He started his charity Waterboys in 2015 to help bring clean water to underdeveloped locations in East Africa. They are now up to 32 wells funded, each of which can serve up to 7,500 people. Later that same year, Long started the Chris Long Foundation with the mission of supporting “bright futures for communities and the individuals that make up those communities”. Independent of all that, Long and former St. Louis Rams teammate William Hayes spent 24 hours living among the homeless population in order to better understand their struggles.

Basically, Chris is putting his money (and time) where his mouth is and helping build a better world.

Last week, Long summited Mt. Kilamanjaro again (the first time being 2013, which led to the idea of Waterboys).

Nate Boyer, a former Green Beret in the Army, has teamed with Long to form Conquering Kili, a group that aims to, “...empower former NFL players and military combat veterans to continue their commitment to service and bettering communities by climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro and raising funds to build sustainable water wells.” In two past seasons (2016 and 2017), Conquering Kili has raised more than $275,000 and built four wells. This year’s class is currently $101,000 into their goal of $150,000.

Long and Boyer were joined on this year’s climb by Nate’s father Steve, former Tennessee Titan QB Vince Young, MMA fighter Justin “The Big Pygmy” Wren, US Marine Corps Sergeant Anthony Goins, Los Angeles Rams Connor Barwin and Steven Jackson (now retired), former Cavalier and Indianapolis Colt Tom Santi, and veterans Jon Arnold (Army), Kerry Rock (Army), Elliot Ruiz (Marines), and Doc Jacobs (Navy).

Chris couldn’t pass up the opportunity to take a pic at the top for all the Eagles fans out there:

Congratulations to Chris and his entire group for their hard work and success!

If you are interested in donating to Waterboys, click here.