Former NFL player and Decatur High grad brings gifts to Decatur kids
Dec. 22—Former NFL cornerback and Decatur High standout Jerraud Powers remembers his youth growing up in Northwest Decatur and being involved in the Sixth Street Boys & Girls Club, so this month his organization collected and donated around 100 gifts to Decatur children.
On Wednesday evening, Powers was playing a pickup football game with the children outside the old Boys & Girls Club building on Sixth Street Southwest — while inside, gifts ranging from coloring books and toy cars to sneakers and clothes awaited them. He said giving back to the community is something he has always tried to do and he hopes the children who reside in the Northwest part of town know how much he cares.
"I just thought it was important to come back to a neighborhood that I grew up in and am familiar with and wanted to bring some light and brightness to some of the kids that live in this area," Powers said. "Sometimes, this area can be forgotten, so we need to show them the city supports them."
Powers played basketball and football at Decatur High and graduated in 2006. He went on to play football for Auburn University and was later drafted in the third round by the Indianapolis Colts after forgoing his senior year at Auburn. He played seven years in the NFL before retiring in 2017.
"I grew up in a project right over there," Powers said. "I went to Leon Sheffield school, West Decatur Elementary and Brookhaven (Middle School), so I know this area pretty well."
Powers developed the idea for his nonprofit organization, the Jerraud Powers Foundation, originally called the Team Freeze Foundation, to help struggling families while he was still playing for the Colts in 2009. Freeze, he explained, was a nod to his uncle, who he referred to as Freeze-E.
"It was during my rookie year in the NFL, I had a group of friends who were going back and forth with some Twitter fans," Powers said. "There was this guy in the Navy who sent me a message and said he was going to start a Twitter page for us and we called it Team Freeze. It ended up getting 10,000 fans."
Powers said from there, the foundation started seeking out families who were in need of "immediate help."
"Whether it's bills or groceries, we'll furnish homes and take care of medical bills," Powers said. "We just try to be that extra resource for people."
The Jerraud Powers Foundation is based in Madison, where Powers now lives, and worked with Decatur Youth Services this year to provide the children gifts. Powers said a lot of families in the Decatur and Madison areas donated gifts.
"My sons play in a youth basketball league, and we reached out to parents of kids they play with and got a lot of support," Powers said. "We started collecting gifts in November and had about 20 families who donated."
Rico Pickett, sports coordinator for Decatur Youth Services, said he hopes the children learn from Powers' example of giving back.
"We try to get the kids to understand that we need to give back and you don't have to be a millionaire to give back," Pickett said. "As you grow and get older, you should come back and volunteer."
Powers' mother Janice Powers-Rutledge and his cousin Bonita Pickett were also there Wednesday to hand out gifts. Powers-Rutledge said Northwest Decatur was always a great support system while raising her children and she is proud to see her son now be a part of that support system.
"I just want us to get back to how it was back then when everyone helped each other. That's how it was when Jerraud was growing up," Powers-Rutledge said.
— wes.tomlinson@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2442.
