12/31/2023
Thank you to all who helped us bless the children in Uvalde again this year.
DRAKE ATHLETICS BRINGS CHRISTMAS PRESENTS AGAIN TO CHILDREN OF UVALDE
Uvalde’s children were blessed with Christmas presents on Thursday, December 21 from 5-8pm. As children entered the Willie de Leon Civic Center, they were greeted with Christmas music, Christmas trees, and cheers from Drake Athletics nonprofit volunteers. Drake Athletics also brought gift cards for teachers.
Coach Terry Drake, CEO of Drake Athletics, said he felt a calling to bless the children of Uvalde again this Christmas. As he talked about his vision, there was a groundswell of support from DFW schools, churches, and businesses. And 25 dedicated volunteers take a 24-hour no-sleep roundtrip from DFW to Uvaldi and back to make this event happen.
“We are so grateful to our community for helping create Christmas in Uvalde. We couldn’t do this without our generous sponsors, partners, volunteers, and especially Fort Worth Christian School - in NRH,” said Coach Drake, who is not only an alumnus of FWC but also helps with the middle school athletics and is the Director of Alumni Relations.
The FWC community united to make this event happen. Alumni included Smallwood, President of & Associates and the Chairman of the Board of FWC, Rachael McWilliams, owner of Hyper Wellness Colleyville, and Lauren Smeds, who is part of the FWC Athletic Department working with Coach Story, FWC Athletic Director.
Dallas-Fort Worth businesses and organizations also helped including Pearson Air, T&S Products, and NFL Alumni DFW Chapter. The National Honor Society helped collect gift cards for teachers and Hills Church Dallas Campus helped stuff the bags full of presents.
Over 30 Texas schools participated in the toy drive. Thanks to Coach Heath Autrey, Head Baseball Coach at Corsicana High School in Corsicana, Texas and Coach Jason Farrow, Head Baseball Coach at Forney High School in Forney, Texas for coordinating the schools that were involved. Together, they recruited athletic coaches who organized local toy drives with their student-athletes collecting toy donations.
Coach Drake and Jeff and DeAnn Womack spent several days driving to schools throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area to pick up the donated toys.
Thank you to Gloria Resma, City of Uvalde Main Street Manager, and Mikka Sanchez at the Uvalde School District for coordinating with Drake Athletics to make this event happen.
Coach Drake’s nonprofit Drake Athletics teaches leadership skills through sports but they obviously do so much more. Visit www.drakeathletics.net for more details.
See Drake Athletics in the news at:
https://www.uvaldeleadernews.com/articles/drake-athletics-brings-christmas-presents-again-to-uvalde/
"If you give a child a fish, he can feed himself one time. If you teach a child to fish, he can feed himself for a lifetime."
