Like most of us, Elijah Hicks’ mind kind of went into overdrive about the coronavirus pandemic as the news and subsequent closures swept across the country last week. Hicks, a starting defensive back for Cal, then was struck by the thought of his own childhood. And, what would happen to the kids who were like him, from low-income families where food was scarce.

“My mom would be like, ‘I can’t wait for y’all to go back to school,’ because we would just eat up everything, and not because we was greedy, just because we’re hungry and we’re active and things like that,” Hicks said of his days growing up in Long Beach, Calif. Hicks and his siblings, like a lot of kids, depended on school to help feed them. So schools closing because of the coronavirus hit close to home for the Golden Bears senior.

“It’s pretty tough on on parents, especially when they don’t have time to plan (for something like this), like when schools got shut down with the coronavirus, parents couldn’t plan and stuff like that,” he said. “So when I was hearing the story of schools shutting down, I instantly started to think about that because I would have been struggling and definitely in one of those situations that would need assistance from wherever. I really feel for them because I would have been one of those kids.”

On Wednesday night, Hicks’ idea came to fruition. He enlisted a bunch of other Pac-12 defensive backs — Oregon’s Jevon Holland, Washington’s Myles Bryant and Keith Taylor, Utah’s Terrell Burgess and Hicks’ teammates Cam Bynum and Ashtyn Davis — plus former Notre Dame wideout Chase Claypool, to be a part of his Intercept Poverty COVID-19 Campaign. They blasted out a video on social media featuring themselves to help raise money for those kids in need. In the first few hours, they raised more than $2,500.

“I felt the need to say something,” Holland said. “People are obviously struggling. And I know I would love for someone to help me if I needed it.

Holland wasn’t one of those kids that needed school for food but adds, “I had a mother and father at home. That is a blessing to me and I knew that. I know kids that didn’t have both parents at home. And didn’t have food.”

Last year Hicks started a nonprofit called Intercept Poverty with the goal of helping college students overcome financial roadblocks. He has filed paperwork with the Internal Revenue Service and is in the process of becoming recognized as a 501c3. He’s taken several courses in Cal’s Haas business program, which has given him the confidence to launch the effort. Last year he also volunteered at a local food pantry, unloading and restocking food on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

For the video, Hicks started with his buddies. He grew up with Taylor, knew Bryant from his high school days, and had worked out with Holland last summer in the Bay Area. Davis helped hook him up with Claypool. Hicks didn’t know Burgess but reached out to him over Instagram any way, and the former Utah standout got back to him quickly with his video part.

Hicks shared a Google Doc with them that had some facts and some suggestions of what they could say. “They just talked from their heart and I just feel thankful enough that they were able to take time out of their days to make the videos,” he said.

The fundraiser is set up via No Kid Hungry, a nonprofit organization. All of the funds go directly to that site. “I trust this charity a lot,” he said. “They’re helping kids all around America.”

Before he sent out the link Wednesday, he’d made sure everything was signed off on by Cal’s compliance. He hopes it will continue to build momentum. Hicks says a few of his teammates are around Cal’s campus. He’s been running, doing push-ups, jumping rope and is thankful that he’s healthy so he can keep up with his schoolwork and keep putting things together to help people in the community.

(Photo: Cody Glenn / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)