Through foundation, Rutgers’ Paul Mulcahy spreads feeling of gratitude

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Rutgers Scarlet Knights guard Paul Mulcahy started the Grateful4 Foundation over the summer in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.Andrew Mills | NJ Advance Media

As turkey and gravy and stuffing and mashed potatoes hit the table Thursday evening, millions of families across the United States will sit together for Thanksgiving dinner to eat, drink and give thanks for the great things in their lives.

It’s an image Paul Mulcahy loves to see. He doesn’t think it happens enough.

That’s why the Rutgers sophomore guard founded the Grateful4Foundation over the summer, an organization with a simple goal -- make the expression of gratitude a more common occurrence, and in turn, encourage people to help others whenever they can.

“Everyone can feel some sense of gratitude, so I just wanted to highlight that emotion and show how once people feel a sense of gratitude, they realize the position they are in and they stop looking at the things they don’t have, realizing all the blessings you have in your life,” he said in a phone interview earlier this week. “You can go out and be a blessing to somebody else. Don’t take that for granted.”

The idea for the foundation was in Mulcahy’s mind since his junior year of high school at Gill St. Bernard, but it took a pandemic to get it off the ground.

As the coronavirus spread quickly through New Jersey in the spring, Mulcahy was home from school with more time on his hands than usual. He couldn’t practice his dribbling or put up any shots, so he poured his energy in getting the Grateful4 Foundation off the ground.

Mulcahy was motivated by the tough times. He saw so much focus on the negatives -- and there were a lot of negatives to focus on -- but not enough on the positives. He wanted to change that.

“The pandemic just gave me a lot of time off so I got to do things I wanted to do and that was one of them,” Mulcahy said. “We take so many things (for granted). So many things that are simple or normal to you may be everything to somebody else and that just hit me. I thought ‘I got to put this out now.’ It was geared towards the pandemic and trying to be a light for people.”

In the video announcing the launch of the foundation, Mulcahy made a plea: take the time to think about four things you are grateful for and share it with the world.

The response was immediate.

Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell, football radio voice Chris Carlin and Rutgers legend Eric LeGrand were among the many members of the Rutgers community to flock to Twitter and share their gratitude. Other Rutgers basketball coaches, teammates, managers and fans joined the movement.

“It was awesome,” Mulcahy said. “(The Rutgers community) was a big reason I came here. The alumni base and the community itself, a lot of New Jersey people but the community itself is super tight knit and wants to support, help and are really good people. I came here because of the people. The whole coaching staff has been really involved with it and even now, the Rutgers community, people I talk to on a weekly basis want to help and do different things. It’s tough with the pandemic but we’re still doing what we can right now.”

Mulcahy opened a Twitter, Instagram and YouTube account for his foundation. He posts occasionally on all, either retweeting another video of grateful expression or posting an image reminding people to stop and contemplate.

Mulcahy’s efforts were equally appreciated.

“We have a lot of great kids from great families on our team, and this is just another example of that. I’m proud that Paul has taken on this initiative,” Pikiell said over the summer. “Sometimes, in these tough times, you forget about those things. But we all have a lot to be grateful for. I’m excited that our guys have vision like that and those kind of goals. I’m proud of him for starting that up and hopefully it can generate a lot of good in New Jersey and in the world.


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Mulcahy does not plan to stop there.

His goal for the foundation is to eventually build it into a non-profit organization with an initial aim to help the less fortunate in his community, namely New Brunswick, Bayonne and Hudson County at large.

“I really want to have a big impact in New Brunswick because my life is the best it has ever been, but a mile away, people are a lot less fortunate,” Mulcahy said. “I see it every day. I want to help them, I want to help Bayonne and Hudson County where I grew up. Ultimately, hopefully I can put myself in a position where I can help people all across the country and do different things like that.”

For now, Mulcahy’s time is occupied playing a big role in what could be the greatest Rutgers basketball season in decades. His free time is limited.

But when he’s not on the court or in the film room and he has time to reflect -- when he sits down for a Thanksgiving meal on Thursday, for example -- he’ll be sure to remember the great things in his life.

“Today, I’m grateful for my health, my support system, the (basketball) season coming and my faith,” Mulcahy said.

Tomorrow and for many days that follow, Mulcahy hopes you’ll join him.


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Brian Fonseca may be reached at bfonseca@njadvancemedia.com.

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