Marquan Grimes, a 17-year-old standout four-sport athlete and incoming senior, organized a youth football camp over the weekend at Edison Career & Technology High School. The camp aimed to inspire positive change in the community by highlighting student-athletes with high GPAs as role models.
"My mom always taught me to do whatever I can to help somebody and to always give them my best. So, whatever I could do to help somebody, I'm gonna just give it 110%,” said Grimes.
Grimes says he believes in doing good deeds, no matter how small, to help others see the good in the world.
The camp attracted a diverse group of children aged 6 through 12, including boys and girls from Black and Brown communities, for a free, one-day co-ed football training camp.
Seventeen-year-old Grimes invited the young participants to join student-athletes with GPAs of 3.0 or higher, exposing them to the positive influence of sports.
Aniyah Carter, a 16-year-old student volunteer, served as the camp's photographer and videographer. She recently graduated from Edison Career & Technical High School and will attend Full Sail University in Orlando this fall, majoring in Sports Videography.
She says she wants the camp's young attendees to leave the experience feeling emboldened.
“I want them to take away that they can do anything they want to do. Even your age doesn't matter. You can do whatever you want to do because it's your life. You can't not do something because somebody else told you you can't. Me and Marquan are the splitting image of that because we're only 16 and 17, and we pulled this whole thing off in a month,” said Carter.
Carter’s advice extends beyond sports, urging students to take proactive steps toward achieving their goals, whatever they may be, and to focus on positively impacting the community.
The football camp provided a platform for children to bond with student-athletes, learn new skills, and feel empowered to pursue their dreams.
