This photo, which appeared in the Detroit News in the Fall of 2010, shows a player adjusting his helmet so another player could use it. The article went on to explain that the high schools in the City of Detroit did not have access to the amount of funding required to allow those students, who wanted to enter a sport, to do so due to the lack of proper equipment and salaries for coaches.
All our children and grandchildren, who attended suburban schools, participated in various sports which were adequately funded.
We were moved by the injustice of the situation in Detroit. Thus, began a ten year adventure for Nancy and me that still persists to this day.
The closest Detroit high school to our home was Henry Ford High School which was fifteen miles away. We called the school and asked to speak to the athletic director. We told him we had seen the story in the paper and wanted to help. After meeting with him, we met with the head football and basketball coaches.
We purchased new cleats, jerseys, pants, helmets and varsity jackets for the football players and appropriate equipment for the basketball players. The 2011 team went undefeated in the regular season and played in the city championship game at Ford Field. I became the special teams coach for the football team and remained in that capacity from 2010 through the 2012 season.
We also established an academic jacket award for the top 20 students in the senior class. The jackets were awarded at a banquet attended by the families of the winners. Fifteen of the academic award winners were girls.
Upon leaving high school, two of the football players fell into homelessness and very hard times. One of them lived with us for three years before joining the Navy. For the last nine years, we have been helping both of them and although their lives are still a struggle, they are moving forward.
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