The day that mandatory minicamp ended, Buffalo Bills cornerback Christian Benford leaned back in a chair and reflected on all he would be doing in the next 48 hours.
While Benford previously had found ways to repay the community, lately he has been upping his efforts. He is in the midst of launching a foundation, 47 Hearts, that will give back in multiple ways. He ran a camp, wrote a book and connected with the Buffalo community when he threw out a first pitch at a Buffalo Bisons game.
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Devoutly religious, Benford links all of his projects back to God. Benford believes his mission is to do more.
“There’s always more stuff to learn, always more stuff to do,” Benford said. “And I just pray to God to give me wisdom and guide me and direction that he wants me to do. I asked him, like, ‘What do you want me to do? How? What works do you want me to do for you?’ And there’s more and more on my plate. And no, God’s not going to give you too much that you can’t handle.
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“He’s not going to overfeed you. He will give you exactly what you need. ... And God will keep giving you more food to feed the appetite.”
Buffalo Bills OTA
Bills defensive backs Christian Benford, left, and Ja’Marcus Ingram stay after practice to work on handwork during OTAs on May 27. Derek Gee, Buffalo News
Benford has deep ties to Baltimore, his hometown, and Buffalo, but he is not limiting where he wants 47 Hearts to have a presence.
“Everywhere,” Benford said. “My goal is to reach out to as many, like, foster cares, shelters, Boys and Girls Clubs, anything all over the world, country, all of that to help impact in the best way possible, like, so everybody hears ‘Oh, that’s 47 Hearts. They are putting in every cent into those individuals.’”
This spring, Benford wrote a children’s book, Stylish Safari. All of the proceeds are going to 47 Hearts. Benford, who is into fashion, wanted to impact kids by letting them know they can express themselves however they want to dress.
“I wanted to write this book and put a good visual to it,” Benford said in April. “Some kids, a lot of visual learners and picture, you’re not going to put a book, like, where is the kid going to be interested? No shot. You use some pictures. So, I wanted to do something like that, and impact them in the best way possible to help wire their brain to be them. Be yourself.”
He learned about himself during the writing process, too.
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“It really kept me at peace,” Benford said.
He found that coming home from football and putting his mind on something else helped keep him grounded. Football, though it gives him a platform, isn’t everything, after all.
Even in planning his inaugural football camp for kids, Benford didn’t want the sport to overshadow other lessons. Speaking ahead of the camp, he said his goal was to connect parents to coaches, to let kids get extra attention on the skills they need. He wanted kids to leave the camp feeling as though they learned something new from the carefully selected coaching staff. And more than that, he wanted them to have fun. The plan was to have food trucks, other games and even some dancing.
“I’m big on music,” Benford said. “The DJ’s my man, though, and I just want everybody to have fun. That’s really it. I don’t really care about the drills, I’ll be honest. I just want them to learn, and I just want them to have fun, like, just enjoy it, bro.”
The day before his camp started in Maryland, Benford was throwing out the first pitch at a Bisons game.
“My son plays baseball, so yeah, I’m excited,” Benford said a day ahead of taking the mound. “Honestly, I’m honored to even be asked that, because I know that’s some big-time stuff.”
Interception (copy)
Bills cornerback Christian Benford intercepts a pass against the Cowboys in 2023. While he takes away on the field, he gives back to his communities off it. Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
Ahead of the game, Benford planned to talk to fans about his book and his foundation. Everything he was doing linked back to helping others.
“It’s awesome,” Benford said. “I feel like that’s what it’s all about, using your platform to really connect to kids like that and to teach them things that you wish you learned. Help them in situations where, like, maybe whoever’s in their life don’t got the answers, knowledge, but God put you in their life because you got the knowledge, right?
“So, it’s awesome, I believe. I really love it.”
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