Eighth grader, frequent blood donor will attend Super Bowl thanks to charities
By Rhondella Richardson, Yogev Toby
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BOSTON (WCVB) — The Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Red Cross, and the NFL are sending two Massachusetts locals to the Super Bowl this week to watch the New England Patriots face the Seattle Seahawks.
Zeeshan Mohammed, 13, of Sharon, will be cheering on the New England Patriots from the stands this Sunday, after being one of 24 Make-A-Wish recipients from across the country.
Mohammed, an eighth grader who dreams of becoming a neurosurgeon, underwent treatment for lymphoma. During that time, his family says, football helped him take his mind off his illness.
The NFL will provide Mohammed and his family Super Bowl tickets, and Make-A-Wish’s sports charity, Fanatics, will offer the kids special events, athlete meet-ups and a tour of the Levi’s Stadium as part of the five-day experience.
The NFL also collaborated with the Red Cross during a January blood donation campaign to award one randomly selected donor tickets to the game.
For Eric Jellison, of Wakefield, the Super Bowl will be his first-ever NFL game.
Jellison had been a lifelong blood donor after experiencing a severe traumatic injury at a young age and receiving blood transfusions. He then made a promise to continue giving blood.
“I’ve never actually gone to a football game, so my first one to be my home team in the Super Bowl is an amazing feeling, and I can’t wait to get out to San Francisco to get the full effect,” he said.
Jellison won two tickets to the game, pre-game activities, the Super Bowl Experience and a $1,000 gift card.
“I’ve watched every Super Bowl with my childhood friend, who I’m taking,” Jellison said. “So, we’ve been friends for like 44 years. And every year we get together, and we watch. And we’ve had some disappointing years, but we had a lot of good ones as well.”
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