Georgetown’s Jerome Williams talks about his non-profit organization, the JYD Project, why he went into a life of service after basketball and how his community service helped his basketball career (run time is 6:50; transcript below the jump).
[podcast]http://www.lostlettermen.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Williams11.mp3[/podcast]…..
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Lost Lettermen: This is Jose Bosch from LostLettermen.com and I’m joined by Georgetown’s Jerome Williams, member of the 1996 Elite Eight team and head of the JYD Project, a non-profit organization that raises and initiates money for service projects around the country.
Mr. Williams thank you very much for joining us today. As I just mentioned, you are the head of the JYD Project. For those that aren’t familiar could you kind of explain what it is you guys do?
Jerome Williams: Sure. Thank you for having me on this show. I actually started the JYD Project alongside my brother Johnnie Williams when I was based in Detroit with the Detroit Pistons.
It was a movement to give back to the community and specifically to the kids and assisting them to further their education. Staying true to their goals. And really expressing what the JYD really represents.
Just being yourself. You should set some goals.
And doing your best was the motto that we preached to the kids. The JYD Project was a way for us to bridge and leverage the NBA and my nickname to actually help youth serving organizations.
Last year we became a 501-c3 (non profit) and have been doing projects all throughout the world for the past 12 years.
LL: You mentioned that this project helps kids. Was there any one moment or anything that kind of triggered wanting to do something like this?
JW: I think the moment was just thinking about when I was a kid and thinking about how important it would’ve been or how lucky I would’ve thought I was if I got the opportunity to, not only meet a professional athlete, but also interact with them for a short amount of time.
And I just told myself I was always going to be there to do as much as I could in the community, with kids. Whether it be speaking at a school, speaking at a camp, participating at a camp, participating in a service oriented project, which was giving back to the community alongside kids.
That professional athletes have a responsibility to not only give back and to also show them that we are caring and giving back because we don’t know who you’re touching or what life could be changed by your positive influence.
LL: A lot of people like to do community service, like to start projects. But for whatever reason sometimes those projects can go awry. And not for any bad reasons.
What have been some of the difficult moments for you as you’ve gone through this project through 12 years that you’ve been able to push through to continue succeeding?
JW: Well I think it’s just perseverance. You’re always going to be facing challenges in any organization. In any movement that you’re trying to start there’s always going to be the enemy trying to take you down. Trying to take you out. And you have to persevere through that. Nothing in life is easy, nothing in life comes easy.
It’s all just, it’s predicated just like on the basketball court, if you translate it to hard work. If you continue to work at it, if you continue to strive for perfection, eventually things will change and things will get better.
And never forget the whole purpose. The purpose is to help the youth. The purpose is to give back and whether you’re a fireman or whether you’re a sanitation worker, a janitor, a nurse, doctor or lawyer, you have an opportunity. And I think sometimes people look at their status a little too hard and think, “Nobody wants to be me.”
And even as a professional athlete, when I was sitting at the end of the bench for the Detroit Pistons, I thought the same thing. So I think we all have a level of insecurity. But I think we have to continue to strive to do something and explore your gifts.
I think we’re all blessed on this planet to have gifts and you have to know what those gifts are and use them. Don’t just waste your gift. So I’m not wasting mine, I’m just putting it into action and I can only improve everyday.
LL: You mentioned that you were raised Catholic, was an altar server, and you also talked a little bit about the insecurities when you were kind of at the end of the bench in Detroit.
At that time, was that a situation where you just kind of grin and bear it, or did you use your religion to kind of help you get through that and push through that?
JW: Well I use my religion and faith in the Lord to really strengthen me through all adversity. But at the same time at the end of the bench you have to also go within yourself and say, “I’m blessed to be here but there’s something else that I could be doing.”
And really that’s what turned my career around. When I began to give back in the community, well that actually persuaded a lot of community leaders, a lot of people in the community that enjoyed watching the Pistons, be Pistons fans, coming to the games and demanding that I play some minutes.
And it was through a lot of that heckling that I actually got on the court because at the time the Detroit Pistons were the second best team in the Eastern Conference only to the Chicago Bulls with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.
So to get the opportunity to play really came from the community, I thought. And that’s really my whole basis on how I live life is that, from the top to the bottom, everybody relies on everybody else.
The Detroit Pistons relied on the fans to purchase tickets. And I never lost sight of that and I saw a first-hand glimpse of how the power of those tickets can get you out on the floor. Even if it’s for a brief moment, I got an opportunity because fans felt like they saw me in the community, they had the opportunity to meet me, they got an opportunity to know who I was as a person and they said they wanted that person on the court wearing a Pistons jersey.
So everything works hand in hand in life, I believe. And you have to take your opportunity and seize the moment and not be so self-centered that you only think about yourself. Think about others, good things will happen for you.
Got a question or comment? E-mail him here
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I don’t recall a fan uproar demanding he play in Detroit. But I’m glad to see this guy being a positive influence for everyone.
Jerome made my son feel so special when he came to his school for his 8th birthday. he was a good influence on my son.
Thanks
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