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American Youth Football’s Own Coweta County Cougars Spend the
Day with Hines Ward!
Hines Ward of the
Pittsburgh Steelers hosted a day-long youth football camp at Forest Park
Stadium in Forest Park, Georgia in May, and there to represent American
Youth Football was Coach DeAndre Franklin and his Coweta
County Cougars.
The Cougars got a
chance to show off their skills and most importantly, spend the day with an
NFL player who is truly all about Giving Back. "My mom always said, 'Never
forget where you came from,' " Ward said. "When you look at the different
perspectives some people have in life, you cannot get caught up in playing
football. I am never going to think I am better than anybody else. I am
blessed to be doing what I love to do. Not everybody is so blessed."
Ward has a
special spot in his heart for less fortunate children -- mostly, he said,
because he was one. Born in Seoul in 1976 to a black father, Hines, and a
Korean mother, Kim Young-hee, Ward's family moved to Georgia during his
first year, hence his ties and desire to return to Atlanta to host his youth
football camp. Hines grew up in a single parent home; he also grew up poor
-- a fact that he was reminded of when friends from fellow financially
strapped families ridiculed Ward about his preference for books.
Ward established
his Helping Hands Foundation to focus on promoting literacy and
serving children from single-family homes throughout Western Pennsylvania.
He donated more than $1 million to help start the foundation.
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