Odell Beckham Jr.'s warms the hearts and bodies of homeless in Cleveland

Odell Beckham Jr. couldn’t have been more than 3 or 4 when he saw a homeless person alongside the road and made his mother back up the car and offer some help. It’s a memory that has stayed with him, coming to mind any time he walks outside in the cold or the snow or the freezing rain.

Given he spent the first five years of his career in cold and snowy New York, and is now in colder and snowier Cleveland, it’s a thought he has often at this time of year.

“Man, some people don’t even have a place to keep themselves safe and warm,” Beckham told USA TODAY Sports. “Unfortunately, that’s the way the world works. There are people out there, outside, suffering.”

There is no shortage of generosity by athletes, and acts of kindness abound at this time of year. San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman paid off lunch school debt for students in a nearby school district. Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster bought toys for local children. New England Patriots linebacker Kyle Van Noy threw a Christmas party for foster kids and their families, distributing winter coats, toys and decorated trees.

For Beckham, it wasn’t so much about the holidays as wanting to thank people in Cleveland for how warmly, and how quickly, they’ve embraced him. And wanting those people he thinks of every time he’s out in harsh weather, people who are too often overlooked even at this time of year, to know that he sees them.

On the night of Dec. 13, members of the Cleveland Browns community relations staff pulled up at Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry’s men’s shelter. The shelter is the largest in Ohio, serving more than 350 men a night.

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Beckham wasn’t with them, on his way to Arizona with the rest of the Browns for the Dec. 15 game against the Cardinals. But in his place he’d sent 100 large, plush, fleece blankets. Each was neatly folded, and wrapped with a ribbon.

“When I think about a blanket, it’s about human survival. But it also has the metaphor of home and comfort,” said Erin Kray, the associate director of housing and shelter for Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry.

“Especially when it’s as comfortable and cozy as the ones he bought,” Kray added. “He didn’t just buy hospital blankets or ones that are functional. He bought ones that he’d want his grandmother to have. It’s really about comfort and home.”

Maurice Anderson, who turned 62 the night Beckham's blankets arrived, has been homeless “for a while.” He’d struggled with addiction, and home was often wherever he could find a place to sleep. Streets, dilapidated houses, shelters.

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Five months ago, Anderson went to Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry, which in addition to running homeless shelters offers counseling for substance abuse and mental health issues, job training and housing assistance. Now sober, Anderson is on track to move into his own apartment in the new year. 

“That touched my heart,” Anderson said of getting one of Beckham’s blankets.

“The blanket is very comfortable. Very, very comfortable. And it’s soft. Real soft.”

It also has a “foot warmer,” a pocket specifically for his feet. Anderson said that’s the best part of it, because his feet are what get cold first.

That, and the fact it came from Beckham, who along with Baker Mayfield are his favorite Browns.

“Coming from OBJ, that’s a plus. It’s very sentimental to me,” Anderson said. “The blankets that he donated, my peers here, they do need them.”

Beckham hadn’t intended to promote his donation – look on his Twitter and Instagram pages, and you won’t find any mention of it. But he made a video for the shelter staff and residents, and Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry posted it on its website.

It has been viewed almost 200,000 times.

“I thought that was just a really thoughtful gesture” by Beckham, said Michael Sering, the vice president of housing and shelter. “We need lots of things at the shelter. The blanket is just a really appropriate thing, maybe symbolically and practically.”

For Beckham, the meaning is simple.

“To live outside,” he said, “it kind of hit me.”

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on Twitter @nrarmour.