Terence Newman is no longer a Dallas Cowboy, but that won’t halt him from becoming a quintessential leader in the lone star state’s Arlington, TX region. Although the former 2003 1st round selection is now donning the orange and black of the Cincinnati Bengals, he understands that the NFL, despite what team you compete on, is often a pulpit for life’s greater callings. One of those convocations rests in Newman’s own Rising Stars Foundation.
- A look at the Rising Stars’ Foundation’s early success:
Inaugurated in 2007, the Rising Stars Foundation upholds a diverse set of values extending from an emphasis on physical well-being and community service to principles derived through education initiatives. This mentorship program graciously offers student-athletes in the Dallas Independent School District an exhibition of opportunities. Outside of the rewarding guidance from wise preceptors, all graduating Dallas ISD students are admitted $5,000 college scholarships. Besides the monetary benefactions, these selective scholars endure countless hours of educational assistance under the tutelage of local Sylvan Learning centers. A balance between school studies and organized social outings (such as bowling trips, community projects, and routine basketball tournaments at the Dallas Mavericks’ practice facility) leave high schoolers with a pleasant disposition on their future holdings.
So, how exactly do these students become an exclusive rising star? 10 freshman are selected yearly from a pool of nominations placed by teachers, administrators, and coaches. These student-athletes ever embody that proactive quality which is capable of electrifying any room or audience by their remarkable demeanor. Selected participants in the Rising Stars Foundation also possess a sort of aspirational characteristic that enables them to lead while impelling fellow friends to act positively for communal change as well. Opportunity is the transmission that allows a Rising Stars Foundation to flourish for the prosperity of Texas teenagers.
In many ways, Newman’s foundation mobilizes student-athletes for challenges beyond the scope of any classroom, field or arena. Newman commented on kids in the Dallas region, saying, “I wanted to give the kids that have potential to become leaders and positive examples for this community an opportunity to reach that potential.” Positive reinforcement awakens these “rising stars” to the endless possibilities within their reach. The basic pillars of education, social work, and abundance of physical activities offer a structural balance where rising stars can now exercise their choice(s) a tad further because a floodgate of opportunities have been unleashed. They have received words of encouragement by way of a support system and a new thriving confidence trickles through their minds.
Ask Terence Newman what epitomizes the core of his foundation. His unequivocal intervention into these teenager’s lives has modified their circumstances by introducing them to advanced resources; the outcome being the attainment of individual goals with great expedition. When you look at Newman’s foundation from this angle, what you’ll see is that the collective experience these kids partake in becomes a catalyst to embrace life’s challenges sooner in order to embellish the world with their own deepest passions. The impact that 10 rising stars have on the Dallas area is astronomical as a domino effect of good character pervades youth communities. The lessons learned as rising stars are just as much theirs as they are to be shared with members of the Dallas community. However, none of this is possible without that ONE opportunity. Maybe “JerryWorld” was left a better place by Newman?
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