By Lisa Zimmerman | Engagement Insider
Things are going pretty well for Chris Harris, Jr. and his wife Leah. Three years after being signed as an undrafted rookie free agent out of the University of Kansas by the Denver Broncos, Harris is now a starting cornerback. The Harris’ have settled into the Denver community and are looking excitedly toward their future.
However, Harris has not forgotten where he came from. Raised by a single mother in Tulsa, Oklahoma, things weren’t always easy. His mother kept him in sports to give him direction and keep him out of trouble. But, Harris knows the struggles that others like him have.
Harris started to plan how he would give back well before he ever arrived in the NFL.
“I’ve been thinking about [community work] ever since I was in college,” he said. “I knew that if I ever made it to the pros I wanted to give back to the next generation.”
Initially, the couple got involved with other organizations in Denver like Big Brothers Big Sisters. They would get Christmas lists from dozens of different families and buy everything on the lists. They held essay contests and the winner, in addition to getting autographed items, got two tickets to a Broncos game and the opportunity to meet other players on the team. They also give an annual $1000 scholarship.
Once they were ready to launch their own foundation, the natural place to start was where Harris came from and places similar to it.
“It’s a very low end community with a lot of violence and a lot of those kids have nothing else to do, so they get in trouble,” Leah explained.
Being undrafted and then working his way up to being an NFL starter, Harris never had anything handed to him and views himself in that underdog role. He sees many others in his shoes and wants to be an example to them that anything is possible with focus and hard work.
The first step was to start a football camp. But they incorporated more than just football instruction. They developed pledge cards that were distributed to each of the attendees asking them to commit to the five pledges listed: Work hard in school and following the direction of their teachers; Stay healthy by eating right and being active; Help out around the house; Be responsible by showing up to school and other activities on time; Volunteering in their community to help others who are less fortunate.
The camp’s official name is the Chris Harris, Jr. Underdog Football Academy and each participant received a wristband that said, “Underdog.”
“Chris was an underdog,” Leah said. “He was undrafted and now he’s starting. We encourage them that no matter where you come from you can always come up and you can do anything.”
Harris knows that his NFL status helps attract the attention of those he’s trying to reach and now they are hosting camps in three different cities – Tulsa, Denver and Dallas, where he trains in the offseason.
They have also teamed up with another “underdog.” Linebacker Wesley Woodyard, also undrafted, runs a foundation that presents football camps like Harris’. The two became close friends playing together in Denver, and although Woodyard has now signed with the Tennessee Titans, they have joined forces on some of their camps to provide a bigger reach and an even better experience for the camp attendees. Both players want to teach more than just football. They want to reach children and educate them on overall life skills to help them succeed.
Leah is an equal partner in everything they do. After graduating from Kansas, where she and Harris met, she started a career in marketing. However, once the wheels were in motion for their foundation, she decided to put her expertise to use in supporting and helping to build it. So, she quit her job and became fully invested in The Chris Harris, Jr. Foundation.
Together they make decisions about each event and about everything involved with the foundation as they continue to grow it.
And Harris has an even bigger dream. Someday he wants to start his own private school in Tulsa to help pave the way for more children from his neighborhood to make their way to college and into successful careers, rather than succumbing to the difficulties and violence they are surrounded by on a daily basis.
In everything he does, Harris is helping to turn today’s underdogs into the success stories of the future.
For more information on the Chris Harris, Jr. Foundation, visit www.chrisharrisjr.com.