ORLANDO, Fla. – On Breakfast With Bridgett, we got a preview of this Saturday’s James Coleman Drive Thru Backpack Giveaway.
Coleman, a Tallahassee native and Jacksonville sportscaster, is a former FSU fullback and NFL player with the New Orleans Saints.
His organization, “Mentors For The Kids Foundation,” holds backpack and food giveaways and youth football camps across the state.
He said it’s his way of building up support and mentoring for the youth, much like sports inspired him as a kid.
“For one, you develop a friend base because you have your teammates, so if nothing else, you’ve got these guys you can rely on. And sports helps you learn how to deal with failure because you’re going to fail, but you’re gonna need people to encourage you. And you learn discipline and also to be reliable to other people,” he said.
For Coleman, a youth football camp he attended as a kid is one of the major moments that made a lasting impact.
“I remember when I was 8-year-old and Jean Atkins, a football player from Tallahassee and FAMU, he also played for the Saints as well, ironically, I always remember that football camp and that made me want to be a football player and be positive. Sometimes you have to find that one positive thing or that one thing that gets you through,” he said. “Everybody has to find that one thing and that’s what mentors do, that’s one of things I’ve aspired to be as I’ve gotten older.”
If you need a backpack for your students, just swing by West Oaks Elementary this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
And with backpack giveaways and sports camps already happening in Tallahassee and Jacksonville, Coleman would like to expand the Orlando outreach by teaming up with local pros to create a sports camp here.
Watch the full interview at the top of this story.
Every day we dish up something new on Breakfast With Bridgett. Watch weekdays at 7:30 a.m. on News 6+ or ClickOrlando.com.
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