Outside of football, a number of NFL players do great things for their community, and this past weekend New Orleans Saints Cornerback, Keenan Lewis, did his due diligence to contribute to the league effort of giving back by hosting his 1st annual Keenan Lewis Foundation weekend.
The Keenan Lewis Foundation weekend was held from July 12th-13th, and held events for both days that included a football camp and the aforementioned back to school extravaganza. Both events were free community events that benefited children of low-income families in the New Orleans and surrounding areas.
The first event of the weekend was the Keenan Lewis Foundation Youth Football Camp. The camp provided kids in the New Orleans community with an enjoyable, educational, and enriching experience of learning how to play the sport. Camp participants were taught the proper fundamental and advanced football techniques essential for success at every level of the game under the guidance of coaches, Keenan Lewis. As well as few of Lewis’s NFL friends such as Mike Wallace of the Miami Dolphins, Trai Turner of the Carolina Panthers, Lamin Barrow of the Denver Broncos, Kendrick Lewis of the Houston Texans came out to help with drills and exercises. Over 500 student-athletes (ages 7 to 17) came out to Behrman Memorial Park this past weekend and had the opportunity to train with professional and local coaches and players.
The football camp was just part of a big weekend for Lewis as his foundation also hosted a Back to School Extravaganza last weekend. Students and their families got to enjoy a variety of entertainment during the day, such as free food, snowballs, contests, give-a-ways, video game systems, rock climbing, massages and door prizes. On top of the endless entertainment, students also received free school supplies, haircuts, dental and medical screenings, chiropractic services, school uniform vouchers and much more. Over 700 students were supplied with a book bag filled with school supplies! Lewis also invited speakers to come out and talk about the importance of getting an education and staying open to all career choices, even if it is not football. “I’m just trying to emphasize, even if you don’t play football, you still have the opportunity to be successful,” Lewis said.
It is evident to see that the goal of this past weekend was to provide a fun-filled family experience that promotes education and health.
It is hard to believe that Keenan Lewis could have imagined a better way to get his foundation up and running considering the fact that Lewis and his team just opened its doors for community service at the top of this year.
The Keenan Lewis Foundation is centered on the vision of giving back to the community and enriching the lives of others. Keenan Lewis echoed this sentiment during a Meet & Greet with the members of the community, “Always remember to give back, no matter how big or small you are, and always give back… It’s always the trend if someone makes it out of the area to give back, show support and love to the community. That’s what we’ve always wanted to do.”
On the other hand, it was a great homecoming for Keenan Lewis, an Algiers, La native. It was there at Behrman Memorial Park that now Saints Cornerback, first laced up his cleats and learned how to play the game. Now the facility he used to call home as a member of the O. Perry Walker football team in 2003, is now fitted with artificial field turf donated years ago by the New Orleans Saints.
Lewis remembers his old stomping grounds a little bit different when he was growing up, “when I was a kid growing up in this same playground it used to be a dirt track so just to see that we actually paid attention and got the stadium fixed is great.” He went on to say, “hopefully we can come back and build a bigger stadium one day and show these kids some skills so that they can be the next us.”
Mark your calendars for November 3rd, which is when the Keenan Lewis Foundation will host “A Taste for Hope,” which is the next big event for the Foundation. Regional wineries and companies in New Orleans will provide bottles and complimentary samples of their signature wines that will be made available at the event for attendees to purchase.
For further information on upcoming events or ways to get involved with the Keenan Lewis Foundation, please visit their website: http://www.thekeenanlewisfoundation.org/
