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Tim Tebow Provides A Helping Hand To The Philippines

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Tim Tebow is gaining international attention not for his famed football career, but for the help he is providing to the to the victims of Typhoon Haiyan.

The Tim Tebow Foundation launched a relief effort for victims of the recent typhoonin the Philippines said Foundation Executive Director Erik Dellenback. The foundation is collecting funds to distribute to ministries providing relief efforts to the affected.

Tebow has a personal connection with the Philippines, being born there while his parents served as missionaries.

Therefore when Tebow established his foundation to bring faith, hope and love to those in need, he targeted the country as one of his outreach programs. The program, in partnership with CURE International, is currently building an orthopedic children’s hospital in Davao City. It works with the Bob Tebow Evangelistic Assocation to promote evangelicalism, church planting and orphan care ministries in the Philippines.

The foundation received reports that the Tebow CURE Hospitaldidn’t sustain any damage and the orphans cared for at Uncle Dick’s Home were unharmed from the storm.

Dellenback said there was still a lot of help needed by some of the foundation's other ministry partners.

“Once we knew what those facilities weren’t in the direct path and the children weren’t in the direct path, then certainly all of our attention and prayers were turned in the direction of those who were in the path and what we could do in a ministry perspective to help them,” he said.

Dellenback said while some want to personally go and do something after a disaster, is best for them to take a step back during the immediate aftermath.

“I think what you find a lot of times is that it is awesome that people want to help out and have that call and feel to want to go out and do something, but so many times when you’re dealing with disaster relief like this, it’s not organized enough for people,” he said.

Dellenback said the foundation currently has a member on the ground in the Philippines to assess the needs of the area and to communicate to Dellenback where help is needed greatest.

The foundation also wants to help the immediate needs by the affected by providing them with necessities such as food, water and shelter. He said in other cases these needs can simply mean encouragement and support.

Dellenback said at this point people can help out by providing monetary donations to the foundation that will go directly to the relief effort in a variety of ways.

“Whether it’s rebuilding churches or whether it’s going in there and feeding people and giving them shelter, there are going to be some immediate needs and some long term needs and we are going to do our best to address both,” he said.

Still, Dellenback said Tebow won’t be making a trip to the Philippines right away because he doesn’t want to be a distraction when helping the nation is most important.

“I think for us right now, Tim and the passion and love he has for the Philippines and the Philippino people, he would be there right this minute,” Dellenback said. “But I think what we are trying to do is take the lead from our ministry partners and the government to understand when the right time to go is. Because as you know with Timmy… we don’t want to be a distraction or anything to the help.”

Donations can be made at www.timtebowfoundation.org or by mail to the foundation lockbox at Tim Tebow Foundation, 2209 County Road 210 W Suite 108 PMB 329, Jacksonville, FL 32259.

Donna is a reporter for WUFT News and can be contacted by calling 352-392-6397 or emailing news@wuft.org.