Area kids warmed by NBA player’s charity

By SEAN BARRON

news@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Whatever weather this winter brings to the Mahoning Valley, Angel Lard should stay warm, but the smiles on her face indicated she also felt a surge of warmth internally.

“They’re very grateful,” said the 5-year-old girl’s mother, Jasmine Lard, who also was referring to her other three children, Tawann Tutwiler, 12; Dyionn Tutwiler, 9; and Prince-John Lard, 8.

The four siblings were among 50 youngsters who received free winter coats, courtesy of Sunday afternoon’s coat giveaway at the YMCA on Champion Street in downtown Youngstown.

Spearheading the effort was a 10-month-old nonprofit organization called 12 Blessings, which is aimed at providing guidance, mentoring, support and opportunities to help young people who are struggling financially overcome their circumstances. The foundation is dedicated to empowering such youth and cultivating their talents related to athletics, arts, science, technology, education and mathematics, its mission statement says.

The organization was founded by Terry Rozier, a Youngstown native who plays for the Boston Celtics and wears No. 12 on his jersey, along with his mother, Gina Tucker, and other family members. Rozier recently signed a basketball shoe contract with Puma and formed a partnership to make the event possible, noted Tucker, 12 Blessings’ executive director.

“He truly believes that it’s a blessing to be a blessing,” said Tucker, echoing the foundation’s mantra. “He’s very passionate about giving back.”

Rozier was unable to attend the coat giveaway, however, because he was in Boston preparing for Sunday’s Celtics game against the Charlotte Hornets.

The foundation also collaborated and partnered with City Kids Care Inc., the YMCA and the Dre Day Foundation, which offers basketball clinics and camps in the Valley designed to stimulate growth in young people and positively impact them and their families.

“It’s always good to do community events. We want to help kids know they can make it and to give back to the community when you do make it,” explained Deaundray Brown, a 2007 Ursuline High School graduate who signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2013 and played for the Canton Charge, a Cavaliers’ minor-league affiliate.

As part of Sunday’s gathering, Brown conducted a basketball clinic that included dribbling and defense drills, footwork and other skills, he said.

Also happy to receive matching red coats were brothers Zaden Shipman, 9, and Zamier Shipman, 11, of Warren.

“This feels good, and I like the coats,” said Zaden, who came with his parents, Delana Shipman and Bertell McClendon. “I don’t have to wait for the bus in the cold.”

In addition to eating heartily and unwrapping their gifts on Christmas day, the siblings likely will enjoy the added company of their grandmother, two uncles and an aunt, Delana said.

McClendon added that the family also plans to include a few holiday-related movies, such as the popular 1989 Chevy Chase film “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” as well as “Four Christmases,” a 2008 romantic comedy starring Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon about a couple who visits their divorced parents on Christmas.

“We appreciate City Kids for what they do for the community as a whole, as well as for our kids,” he continued.

Also thankful for the partnerships was Tom Gacse, the YMCA’s chief executive officer, who said that the entities’ care for and compassion toward young people was the main motivator behind the giveaway.

“What’s nice is that we care about the kids and the community, and we need to do more of it,” he added.