Earnest Graham – A Two Way Street!
Posted by Steve O'Reilly on October 9, 2009 · 2 Comments
By Steve O’Reilly
Down in Southwest Florida there is a man who everyone knows. He is a man of class, grace and integrity, someone to emulate. A local guy who hasn’t forgotten where he came from who knows how to make a difference in his community. That man is Earnest Graham. Earnest has had such an impact in Ft. Myers, FL that the City dedicated a street after him, Earnest Graham Avenue. The man from Mariner High School in Cape Coral, just outside of Ft. Myers, went on to play college ball at the University of Florida and was later signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2003 after being undrafted coming out of college. A Florida guy through and through!
On a higher level!
In 2007, when injuries mounted at the Running Back position, Graham had his time to shine and he didn’t disappoint. He rushed for 898 yards and 10 TD’s in only 13 games. In that stretch, Graham earned a Fantasy Football Hall of Fame jacket for having either ran for 100 yards, scoring a TD, averaging at least four yards a carry, or catching 6-plus passes during those 13 games. He was given the nickname “Dodge Ram” by his teammates for his rugged style of play. In 2008, Graham split carries with Warrick Dunn and also offered to play Fullback to block for Dunn when he wasn’t the ball carrier.
For the good things that Graham has done on the field he has done just as much off of it. He started the Earnest Graham Charitable Giving Organization (EarnestGiving.Org) that raises funds to support children in their growth and development. Here is the letter that was written by Graham on his website…his words are better than mine.
My vision for Earnest Giving, Inc., is to unquestionably be an organization that is at the forefront of early childhood development. I think that in life we are only as productive as the systems we place ourselves in and for too long people have been passive when it comes to a child’s development. In a world where billions are spent to market to our youth to ultimately develop them into consumers, I think that communities can show no less tenacity than those who are trying to capture young energy into capital gain. “The earlier the better” is what I’ve learned is the key to kids ultimately becoming productive.I also understand that the youth don’t have many outlets due to the lack of resources and the lack of organization within community. Earnest Giving would like to place the hands of a 10 year old on piano keys rather than a 9-millimeter; Earnest Giving would like to take a young girls mind off of my space and provide her an environment to carve out her space in the World.
I believe that all human beings have an innate drive to succeed; I think that we can provide the keys. I think we can broaden the narrow mind. I would like Earnest Giving, Inc to be visible and by being visible we shall become influential.
Sincerely,
Earnest GrahamOur Mission: To be a visible and influential organization mentoring youth development by providing cultural arts and humanities life skills programs, mandated by higher academic standards, thus capturing young energy and the innate drive to succeed while building self-esteem and confidence to empower the youth of our nation for generations to come.
In addition to his fine work in the community helping the children of Southwest Florida, Earnest is an incredibly nice person. Not having had the opportunity to meet him personally, I live in Southwest Florida myself and have spoken to some people that have and they describe how humble, kind and grounded he is.
Take the time to visit EarnestGiving.Org and see all of the goodness that is found in the man who is a tough guy on the field but a true gentleman off of it.
Hat’s off to Earnest Graham!
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This is an excellent post on Earnest Graham. Really hits it home hard that football is much more than just a game on the field. It’s great to see a privileged athlete such as Graham take time to give back to his community and his fans.
Being a huge Bucs fan I’m probably a little partial to this story. I am also a southwest Florida guy who just happens to live in Cape Coral. Earnest Grahm went to school here at the same time as my baby sister and I have followed his carreer since highschool. I was very happy that he never went in the wrong path that some of our other local athletes have. He is a great example to our youth and I am proud to say he played here in the Cape. Great story Steve keep them comeing