Harris-Williams Foundation to provide computers for Friendship Houses
For release: May 30, 2008 Former Grambling State and NFL legends James "Shack" Harris and Doug Williams today kicked off the Third Annual Shack Harris & Doug Williams Foundation Celebrity Golf Classic by announcing a donation to Community Renewal International. The foundation will award a grant to fund the purchase of 10 laptop computers, one desktop computer, one copier/fax machine and four printers at the Friendship Houses in Bossier City. "We've done some good things, but we certainly want to do more. This isn't for publicity. This is to give back," Williams said. "We want to do something positive. If you touch one, you can touch a lot." Harris said he was encouraged by coaches and mentors in his youth and now he wants to pass that on and help young people today. "Giving young people an opportunity to prepare themselves to win is what we do with our foundation," he said. Community Renewal Founder and Coordinator Mack McCarter thanked the former football greats personally for the donation. "We are not here to get famous and get rich. We are here for one thing - to build a world in which our little children don't have to suffer and can have hope and joy." Community Renewal has operated one Friendship House in the Barksdale Annex neighborhood of Bossier City since 2003 and will open a second one there this year. A Friendship House is like a community center in a home and a place of hope for at-risk children, teens and their families. The Shack Harris & Doug Williams Foundation is a 501(c) 3 non-profit, tax-exempt organization dedicated to creating opportunities for economically disadvantaged youth. Founded in 2005 by Grambling State University Tigers and NFL quarterback pioneers Pro Bowl MVP James "Shack" Harris and Super Bowl MVP Doug Williams, the Foundation will provide grants for after-school initiatives, leadership development, mentoring programs and minority higher education assistance. Doug Williams was the first black quarterback to start in a Super Bowl, setting several Super Bowl passing records and being named the game's Most Valuable Player when he led the Washington Redskins to victory in 1988. He is now a player personnel executive with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. James "Shack" Harris was the first black quarterback to lead a team to playoffs. He was the first to be a Pro Bowl quarterback and Pro Bowl MVP. In May 2003, Sports Illustrated named him the 36th most influential minority person in sports. Harris is currently vice president for player personnel for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Community Renewal International is a nonprofit effort to restore safe and healthy communities through caring relationships. Founded in 1994, Community Renewal reaches at-risk youth through Friendship Houses built in impoverished neighborhoods, strengthens education through the Adult Renewal Academy, partners with The Fuller Center for Housing and connects caring partners who turn their neighborhoods into safe havens of friendship and support. Contact: David Westerfield, director of communications
(318) 425-3222
davidwesterfield@sbcr.us |
