Bernard Pollard has wanted to start a charity but figured people would assume he was just another athlete starting another charity to get notoriety.

So he held off.

But with the struggles facing some families around his hometown of Fort Wayne, the Kansas City Chiefs starting defensive back felt he couldn’t wait any longer.

So Pollard – a South Side graduate and former football star at Purdue – and his wife, Meghan, developed Pollard’s Helping Hands.

One of the first tasks is to help at home, feeding families and kids who need it most.

Meghan Pollard’s sister works at Meadowbrook Elementary in New Haven and told the Pollards of the issues some kids face – sometimes, the only meals they have are the ones guaranteed at school. With summer break starting, they wanted to make sure the children and families still have food on the table.

“Our main thing is helping the community and being able to do things in Fort Wayne and trying to take that work load off them,” said Bernard Pollard.

“Everybody understands what the economy is right now. It’s just about helping and just remembering to do things for people.

“We’ve been blessed with the opportunity to make ends meet, as far as playing football and doing the things we’ve done in life. I feel like that’s my calling, and that’s what I need to do. So we’re going to get it done.”

A monetary donation to the charity will go toward supplying the families of Meadowbrook Elementary with a voucher that can be used at the Community Harvest Food Bank during the 10 weeks of summer break, starting Saturday and ending Aug. 15.

Meghan Pollard said they’re hoping to provide at least 50 families with a voucher to receive 50 pounds of food a week. The estimated cost is about $475 a week.

Mail donations to Pollard’s Helping Hands, P.O. Box 23701, Shawnee Mission, KS, 66283, or donate online at www.gkccf.org.

For more information on the charity, e-mail pollardshelpinghands@hotmail.com.

sclardie@jg.net