Priest Holmes spent 11 yearsliving the dream as a runningback in the NFL. After anillustrious career, Holmes retiredto life outside the chalk.At that point, most pros willbook a ridiculous vacation, buysome fancy toys and pamperthemselves until the well randry. Priest Holmes is not thatshort–sighted. "I realized thatI’d been building this platformfor my entire career," Holmessays. Rather than squander hiswealth and reputation, he channeledhis efforts into giving backto the community.
When he was younger, Holmes looked upto pro football legends like Tony Dorsett. Unfortunately,he saw that those legends were removedfrom their communities. "We just didn’tsee them," Holmes says. He promised himself,at a very young age, that he would not forgetthe San Antonio community that raised him.
Indeed, he has made the condition of thiscity’s youth his foremost mission. After retiring,he served with a number of other charitable organizationsbefore forming his own Priest HolmesFoundation. Showing remarkable commitment,Holmes poured his own resourcesinto shaping this private youth organization.The beauty of his organization is in its flexibility."When you call other youth organizations,you have to go through a lot of red tape. Whenyou call the Priest Holmes Foundation, we canjust help you," says Holmes.
The foundation is doing some creative andbeneficent things for the city of San Antonio. Teaming up with the annualCamp With the Pros, the Priest Holmes Foundation put on the first annualCelebrity Weekend. The event consisted of a celebrity basketball game, adance competition, and a concert with such big names as Chingy, YoungBerg and T[w]een pop sensation and San Antonio native Ally Brooke.Brooke, only 14 years old, is recording an album with the same band asLupe Fiasco and Snoop Dogg. Another loyal San Antonian, Brooke put herrecording on hold to make sure she could be a part of Celebrity Weekend.
In addition to the musicians in attendance, there were also a number ofcelebrity participants, including Dancing with the Stars’ Mario and KarinaSmirnoff. There were also actors and actresses from shows like EverybodyHates Chris and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.
The event was sponsored by a number of prominent local and nationalplayers, including the U.S. Army, HEB, Tesoro and the Hermes Music Foundation.The Hermes Music Foundation is making a creative contributionto the Foundation’s efforts, producing a professional documentary of theevent. The documentary, including coverage of the event along with celebrityinterviews, will be featured on the Televista networks from South Texasto Mexico.
This year’s Camp With the Pros featured over 27 NFL players, past andpresent. Some of the stars providing their wisdom and guidance were sixHouston Texans, including Mario Williams, and Tatum Bell of the DetroitLions. The camp costs $80 per camper, including two days of training,lunches, t–shirts, and pictures with the pros. Students who couldn’t pay,however, were provided scholarships through the Holmes Foundation.Selected from across the city, participants in the Boys and Girls Clubs ofAmerica were able to attend the camp, free of charge. In addition to thecamp itself, participants were driven to the Celebrity Weekend event andgiven their own private section.
Priest Holmes’ Celebrity Weekend is a tradition worth establishing.This year, the proceeds from their event will go to The Shooting Stars Academy,which helps kids develop as both athletes and people; the St. Peter–St.Joseph Children’s Home, which helps victims of abuse, neglect and poverty;and Bay Bay’s Kids, which promotes children’s health and fitness. Each year,the Priest Holmes Foundation will give the proceeds to different deservingcharities.
If you think that, with Celebrity Weekend over, there’s nothing you cando to help, you’re mistaken. "The Holmes Foundation never turns down agiver," says Priest. The Holmes Foundation is constantly working to improvethe lives of children in need.
