It's one thing to give. It's another to give a lot - and with a genuine, generous, altruistic spirit.
Amidst an incredibly grueling stretch of the 76ers' schedule, one during which the team played five games in seven days, Josh Richardson was presented with a rare night off.
The Sixers had just touched down in Boston, less than 24 hours after grinding out a tough win in South Philadelphia over the Denver Nuggets.
Twenty-four hours later, Richardson and his squad were due on the court again, this time to begin a back-to-back starting at TD Garden against the Celtics, and ending at home against the New Orleans Pelicans.
If Richardson wanted rest, he certainly would have been entitled to it.
Instead, within a half hour of dropping off his luggage at the Sixers' hotel, Richardson was en route to Boston's Seaport district, site of Reebok headquarters. Anxiously awaiting his arrival were eight families participating in the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, called 'TAPS' for short.
The purpose of the meet up?
A surprise $500 private shopping spree for each of the families invited to the Reebok employee store.
After Richardson, a Reebok athlete, broke the news to the group, he spent the next hour and a half at the store, mingling, offering fashion tips - even taking the reins of the cash register for a bit.
"We came out here, did some shopping, having fun," Richardson said.
Hailing from a military family, Richardson has now been involved with TAPS for several years. His mother, Alice, is a retired Air Force lieutenant, his father, Michael, a former firefighter.
While Richardson knows empathy has its limits, he still wanted to help. Holidays tend to be especially hard on families coping with the loss of loved ones.
"This is when families are missing their loved one the most," said Leigh Edmonds, a manager for TAPS' sports and entertainment department. "There's an empty seat at the table. The missing presence is really weighing heavy. So, this is a great distraction. It brings joy during a time of year when it's important. For these families to see a player like Josh, who's in the NBA, to know that he gets it and knows these moments are needed, it's really special and it means a lot to them."
“We have really enjoyed getting to know Josh over the past few months, not only as an athlete but as the person he is off the court, too," said Kalie Kalustyan, Senior Global Sports Marketing Manager for Reebok. "Josh is incredibly passionate about connecting with the community on a more personal level, and we want to support that however possible. We are grateful that he connected us with the TAPS organization and are honored to be able to offer these families our support during the holiday season.”
One of the families at last Wednesday's festivities has a particularly strong connection to Richardson.
Elijah Byrd, a teenager from Northeast Philadelphia whose father, John, was killed in action in Iraq two months prior to Elijah being born, has been mentored by Richardson throughout the season. The two first met in October, and Richardson has kept the fun-loving Central High School freshman front of mind since.
It was Richardson who took care of the round-trip airfare, accommodations, and tickets so that Elijah and his mom, Jessica, could travel to Boston to root on the Sixers at TD Garden.
Elijah refers to Richardson a lot as his 'bro,' and Richardson does the same. In fact, when Richardson first put his number into Elijah's cell phone, he typed it in under the name, 'Big Bro.'
"I just feel so special, it's crazy," Byrd said. "The dude is always thinking about me. He's always there for me."
Richardson talks about his philanthropic contributions in matter-of-fact tones. It's something he likes to do. No big deal.
Mission fulfilled.