Two years ago, New York Jets receiver David Nelson visited Haiti and, as a new ESPN feature shows, his life was changed.

His first visit to the impoverished country inspired him and his brother to found “I’m Me,” a faith-based foundation that seeks to better the lives of Haitian orphans.

"When I met those kids and met little children who don't have a mother and father, yet who have more hope in their pinkie than I have in my entire body, it just changed and humbled me," Nelson told Newsday. "I came back, my brothers and I reflected on it, and said, 'We just can't come back (home) and act like we hadn't experienced what we just experienced and do nothing about it.' We had to do something.”

They did something big, creating an orphanage with the intention of eventually adopting nine Haitian orphans, each of whom he knows by name.

They also established “I’m Me,” whose mission statement states that the organization is “empowering orphans of the world to find their true identity with the cultivation of families, orphan care and stewardship.”

“When I come over to Haiti and I’m thinking ‘I’m changing their lives,’” Nelson told ESPN. “In actuality, they’re changing my life.”

In a NFL community that is craving good news and role models, Nelson seems to be just what the doctor ordered.

Email: mjones@deseretdigital.com