EAGAN, Minn. — Ben Williams knows the impact one person can make in the lives of others.
He's lived that experience as a recipient of a kidney donation and as one who has provided care for others experiencing kidney health problems.
"I haven't had any bad situations, no rejection periods," Williams said last fall. "My actual function is probably at the same level I had when I had two healthy kidneys, so that's been a blessing to stay healthy and to keep trying to climb the mountain."
The former Vikings and Gophers defensive lineman and current President of the Minnesota Chapter of the NFLPA, is helping people in his home state of Mississippi access health care, as well as advocating for organ donation.
"Most states have seen a drop in organ donation over the last two or three years because of misinformation and people not knowing how it works, so I'm going to go to Mississippi and try to do some informative sessions," Williams explained, "Keep doing my thing to try to provide mobile dialysis units to areas that are what I call 'medical deserts.' "
He also wants to help other NFLers as they transition from playing careers to other ventures.
"That last moment you walk out of the locker room, it's a tumultuous ride for some people," Williams said.
His efforts were recognized in August when Williams was invited to Washington, D.C., to receive a President's Lifetime Achievement Award, a recognition created to recognize "lifelong service and the power of purpose-driven leadership."
The President's Lifetime Achievement Award is the highest level of recognition bestowed by the President's Volunteer Service Award. Williams' impact was evaluated by the Biden administration, although the recognition ceremony did not take place until after Joe Biden's presidency.
"It was rather humbling and a great experience," Williams said. "A lot of times in life we think the things we do go unnoticed. And to be frank with you, when I started getting emails about the President's Lifetime Achievement Award, at first, I thought one of my friends was pranking me, but when it started coming from official emails, I kind of figured out it was real.
"I've been in some trying situations in my lifetime, especially with kidney disease and the transplant, but I actually told someone [last fall] — people talk about courage and things like that, courage is not about not being fearful or having fear," Williams said. "When I was going through that period of time in my life, I had fear every day that I was going to die, but courage is the ability to scare out fear and move forward."
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