Empower Inner-City Youth with Devin K. Kares

My name is Devin Kirkwood. I am a student-athlete at UCLA, raised in a single-parent household by my mom. Growing up, I was always taught about the importance of giving back to my community, which helped shape me into who I am today. This is the third year that I have partnered with other nonprofit organizations to collect toy donations and money to help purchase various Christmas toys for children within the County of Los Angeles.

I have lived in the County of Los Angeles my entire life and have personally watched my mom, family, and friends take the necessary steps every year to secure unique Christmas gifts for inner-city youth in hopes of making their holiday season memorable. Many of the children who showed up at the Toy Drive last year were so excited to receive the gifts collected before the Winter Celebration. The reason I am requesting your support is that it’s important to me that I lead by example as it relates to giving back on a regular basis with your assistance. I also find it very essential to share my experiences as a College Student-athlete with aspiring student-athletes from my community. I pray that this partnership will inspire other student-athletes to use their NIL platform to start their foundation and take the necessary steps to give back to the community that poured into them.