University of Tennessee Athletics
LaTroy Lewis: A Hero For Others On Hero Day
October 25, 2016 | Football
By Jordan Shipowitz, UTSports.com
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- On most Saturdays in the fall, LaTroy Lewis is on the gridiron, giving his all for Tennessee.
This is no ordinary Saturday.
On Oct. 22, Lonsdale Park is teeming with an excitement level that would rival a football game at Neyland Stadium. On his only free Saturday of football season, Lewis is directing Hero Day, an event to show Knoxville's youth ways in which it can effectively serve its communities and have fun doing it. As he rushes from one end of the park to the other to make sure the event is running smoothly, kids stop him for selfies or maybe just a hug, to which Lewis happily obliges.
Lewis, who planned this event through his organization Project Elevate, is equally nervous and eager for the day to begin. This event means everything to him. This is his brainchild and his opportunity to show the children of Knoxville that someone truly cares about them.
Each child and volunteer is wearing a t-shirt with "Hero Day" on the front and the number 24 on the back. The "24" is in honor of the late Zaevion Dobson, who died heroically shielding his friends from gunfire. Lewis wants to convey the message that anyone can be a hero, no matter how small the act of kindness. Saturday's volunteers picked up trash around the Lonsdale community and raised money for Lonsdale Elementary with a car wash.
Wendy Hansard, the principal of Lonsdale Elementary, kicks off the event with a question to the crowd.
"What is a hero?"
After she gives the crowd a moment to think, she reaches over and ruffles through a multi-colored stack of construction paper to share her student's answers:
A hero is someone who inspires you to do something great.
A hero is someone who encourages you in every way.
A hero is there when you need them.
A hero is someone who serves others.
Although he would never admit it himself, LaTroy Lewis is all of the above -- a hero in the truest sense of the word.
• • •
Lewis grew up in a rougher part of Akron, Ohio. According to CityData.com over 25 percent of Akron's youth population lives below the poverty line, which is higher than the national average.
La Tonya Lewis-Bector recognized her son's football talents and picked up a second job to put him through Archbishop Hoban, a private school in Akron. She did everything in her power to give her son a better life.
Lewis does not take his mother's hard work and sacrifice for granted. He is forever thankful and he knows she is the reason why is he able to play football for the University of Tennessee.
"It is because of people like my mom who poured themselves into me -- they were the difference between me being an 18-year-old drug dealer or an 18-year-old signing his letter of intent," says Lewis.
This is no exaggeration. Several of Lewis' friends back home had the same athletic abilities, but ended up becoming drug dealers.
Lewis credits two people for his success: his mother and 1988 Olympic Gold Medalist and Akron native, Butch Reynolds. Reynolds, who also graduated from Archbishop Hoban, formed a bond with Lewis through the Butch Reynolds Care for Kids Foundation, which is centered on mentoring children. Reynolds also helped Lewis refine his athletic abilities and navigate the football recruiting process.
Lewis knows from first-hand experience the value of someone who is willing to invest in others.
• • •
Lewis is the type of player that will give 110 percent both on and off the field. He takes the same approach to community service.
Earlier in his career at Tennessee, Lewis visited a local elementary school as part of a community service initiative and spent his day reading to students. That day he left the school feeling unsatisfied. He wanted to do more. Lewis more than most, understood the value of someone investing his or her time in a young person.
The way he felt that day led up to this moment.
"I always tell people that I don't know if I am working with the future mayor of Knoxville, the future president, the future congressman or doctor," Lewis says. "It's good to pour into these kids and show them a lot of different sides of life."
After visiting that school in spring 2016, Lewis started Project Elevate, which focuses on giving back to the community, specifically urban youth. Project Elevate is not yet a non-profit organization because Lewis is in the process of filing for his 501(c)(3) exemption. However, through his organization and in partnership with Sevier Heights Baptist Church, he was still able to organize Hero Day to raise money for Lonsdale Elementary and its new playground.
In addition to Saturday's event, Lewis meets with a specific group of 10 fourth-graders every Wednesday to mentor them and discuss their goals and aspirations.
"You can talk and talk all you want, but until we get out here and show these kids what it is about and how to serve each other and how it is done, it really doesn't mean anything," Lewis says.
Lewis' enthusiasm for this project has spread to his teammates, including Kenny Bynum, Thomas Edwards and Todd Kelly Jr. Bynum and Kelly both spoke to the kids and Edwards served as the event's on stage master of ceremonies.
"I'm honored that LaTroy asked me to speak," says Bynum, "It's so big of him to spend his bye week like this because most guys go home, but he is here serving his community. I love talking to little kids and I am a big kid myself, so I can relate to them, and hope that they will look up to me and see that they can be whatever they want to be."
After months of preparation, Saturday's Hero Day was a success and a sign of more good things to come. With the courage of his convictions and a love for helping others, Lewis is embodies every word those kids wrote on the construction paper.
Lewis is a hero looking to inspire the next generation of heroes.
