Skip to main content
Advertising

News | Washington Commanders - Commanders.com

Robert Griffin III Begins Community Campaign

Robert Griffin III was born in Japan and has lived in Washington and Louisiana, but he really considers three places, more than others, as his "home."

Those locations – Copperas Cove, Texas (where he went to high school); Waco, Texas (where he went to Baylor University); and Washington, D.C. (where he now plays football professionally) – have fully embraced Griffin III and his family.

So now is the time, he said, to start giving back.

First, he has started a foundation called the "Family Of 3 Initiative," in which he'll be able to assist three new families a year financially or through other means.

And secondly, he will be conducting or assisting with two youth football camps in the D.C. area in June.

But Griffin III will also be a busy man in the immediate future. On Friday will be the featured speaker at a Friends For Life fundraiser in Waco, and he said he'll also continue to make more appearances at his teammates' functions and at Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation events, including “Movies With Morris” June 4.

"I've been blessed with a lot of opportunities just being only two years into the league," Griffin III recently told Redskins.com TV's Larry Michael. "On Twitter, I always do '#ThisIsForUs,' and it is for us -- it's for the fans, it's for the players, it's an opportunity for us all to give back, and that's what I'll be doing this offseason."

After suffering a serious knee injury that required major surgery in January 2013, Griffin III last offseason had to focus on his recovery back to the football field – although he was able to donate $100,000 to the Copperas Cove school district to help fund athletic equipment.

With a clean bill of health this offseason, however, Griffin III said he's focused on both improving as a quarterback, as well as branching out in his philanthropic efforts.

"This year, I really had a chance to amp it up in different areas because I'm healthy and having a whole offseason to do this stuff and train," he said. "So I am excited about that kind of stuff and I kind of know what I want to do."

"An Evening With Robert Griffin III"Griffin III on Friday will be returning to Waco to be the featured speaker at the Friends For Life “An Evening With Robert Griffin III,” presented by the Gerald Bolfing Family.

Griffin III said the Friends For Life organization improves the quality of life for seniors and people with disabilities.

"I had a chance to volunteer there," Griffin III said. "I did it, and it changed my life, and changed the way I look at giving back.

"All of the money is going to that organization to help to continue to impact the community. They take kids in for the whole day just so their parents can go to work and feel like their kids are in a good spot while they're at work."

Family Of 3 InitiativeGriffin III said his new foundation is an opportunity to "really show everybody what's on my heart and what I'm all about."

"It is dear to my heart," he said. "I want these three individuals or three families that we help to become a part of our family, whether it's the Washington Redskins or just my family, and I want to be able to give back to them, no matter who it is, what background they come from."

Griffin III said the Family of 3 Initiative is still a work in progress, but he's going to get out more information – including how others can donate – as soon as he has it.

Football Camps

What's more important than Friday-night football in Texas?

Nothing, that's what.

Griffin III knows that fact first-hand, so he's playing off that theme for his "RGIII's Friday Night Lights" football camp Friday, June 13, in the D.C. area.

It's another project that's currently still in the planning stages, Griffin III said.

"It's really focusing on football and other sports, as well – some athletic drills" Griffin III said. "Anybody who knows my story knows I played a lot of different sports. We're going to try to do that for about 200 to 250 kids to keep it limited to I can interact with everybody, and really have it be a fun experience."

The next day, Griffin III will be lending a helping hand at the “Driven by Our Ambitions” educational seminar and football camp at Coolidge High School in D.C., a platform for high school student-athletes and their parents/guardians to receiver critical information that will help them continue their education beyond high school, while using athletics as a catalyst to help get them there.

"It's about really giving back to the people here in inner-city D.C. to really give them a look into what it's like to be a professional athlete, and how our mind operates," he said.

'Everything Has To Be Genuine'As the starting quarterback of a team in one of the largest media markets in the world, Griffin III acknowledges he's "pretty much always on."

"You're always thinking about the next great play, what you can do in protections, things of that nature," he said. "So it's not easy to levy that time to other things, but you have to do it when the time is right. And right now it is the offseason, and I've honestly been training for about two months ... It's tough to do those kind of things, but you do it when it's right."

And for Griffin III, the time is now to plant the seeds to give back to his "homes."

"Everything has to be genuine when you do it," he said. "So this benefit for Friends for Life is genuine because I was there. I volunteered there for a long time. Copperas Cove is where I grew up and D.C. has accepted me so you want to make sure you have those genuine relationships, know what you want to do, and attack it the right way. I think this is a really good way of giving back to the community."

.

.

.

This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be missing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an issue.

Related Content

Advertising
;