LAS VEGAS, NV (KSLA) – “Even though the NFL brought us together, a lot of us didn’t know we were out in the community doing the same thing. We have come together and have all been doing a lot of work together.”
Football, the ultimate unifier on the field is proving to be the same off of it. Lorenzo ‘Chuck’ Reed’s impact is felt in his hometown in Shreveport and this week, in Las Vegas. That’s where the Cowboys fan, made a new friend in NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell.
“I said, Roger, can I slip you a little something, so we can get here next year,” says Reed. “It was great meeting Roger. That was my first time.”
Why the Class of 1988 C.E. Byrd High School alum and the league’s top boss met, is special.
“I have a program named, ‘Powering to Excel.’ It’s a rehabilitation and mentoring program so we work with mostly mentally disturbed kids and severely mentally ill adults. Underneath my umbrella is ‘Excel Cleaning’ and ‘Rosie’s Wish.’
‘Excel Cleaning’ enables youth that are deemed ‘trouble’, by others, to have a job with Reed’s business. But, what’s ‘Rosie’s Wish?’
“That came up because my mom passed away from diabetes, and my son Lorenzo, Jr., struggles with Type One diabetes,” says Reed. “10-15 kids in my program have diabetes and we work with them on how to properly take their numbers.”
The former Shreveport Pirates football star also helps those that are less fortunate.
“We fundraise or raise money for those families that can’t afford diabetic materials,” Reed says. “I’ve been lucky enough to fundraise to come up with one insulin pump a year, which is like $10,000. I’m able to send a couple of kids to Camp Buck in Utah, which is a diabetic camp.”
Rosie may no long be with us physically. But, Lorenzo Reed is making sure her wish is being granted.
“It’s all from up above,” says Reed. “That’s where I get my vision from. My mom was one of those people who always gives to anyone. Anyone that knows Chuck Reed that’s in Shreveport, they know that Rosie Jane, my mom, was that type of person.”
Source: KSLA News 12
