FRISCO, Texas – In life, everyone needs a buddy. Cowboys linebacker Buddy Johnson's foundation has set out to make sure that local kids get the opportunity that he and many others didn't.
For the NFL's "My Cause My Cleats" initiative, Johnson's cleats will represent his own foundation that looks to provide buddies for those who need them most.
"My foundation is called the Everybody Needs a Buddy Foundation, at the end of the day it's a foundation to help the kids get what I didn't have growing up, which was a buddy ultimately." Johnson said.
The Everybody Needs a Buddy Foundation serves to provide mentorship and guidance to the youth of the next generation through personal, professional, and academic development. And that mentorship can come from anywhere, and anyone.
"That could be a father figure, that could be a buddy, that could be a mentor, a bigger bro, a coach." Johnson said.
"I just want to give these guys the resources and let them know it is possible to do what I'm doing because I was once in their shoes, walking on the same grounds they're walking on."
Johnson grew up with a single mother and lost "LD," his best friend, the day before he left to start college at Texas A&M. He hopes to use the lessons he's learned throughout his road to the NFL to teach that anyone can overcome adversity, regardless of when it comes.
"If I can tell them anything, it's going to be that life is going to throw curveballs at you, and you're going to get hit with adversity," Johnson said. "It's not about what happens, it's about how you respond."
The credit Johnson gives to those stepping up to be mentors in his life is widespread, including his mother Michelle Stephens, older brothers and TrueBuzz 7on7 football coach DeMarquis Brooks. They all played a major role in Johnson's development not just as a football player, but as a person too.
"I tell a lot of people that my mom was my mom and my dad because my dad wasn't around…" Johnson said. "Good thing that my coaches were always there, I was one of those kids that I'd spend the night at my coach's house, my coaches used to pick me up and drop me off at school because my mom was working hard, extremely thankful for those guys."
Now, it's all about passing the knowledge he's gained on to the next generation by providing them with buddies of their own.
"I just want to tell the guys that are in my shoes now, it's definitely possible even if your dad's not around or you don't have a father figure," Johnson said. "As long as you put that work in and always have extreme confidence in yourself, you'll be just fine."
The Kimball high school native hosted his inaugural football camp back in June, with about 200 kids showing up to participate. Already, he's looking forward to the next one in his home community.
"It was super cool for me, mainly because it was the first camp back with the Dallas Cowboys and at home, so it was super cool…" Johnson said. "It was a great turnout, but this second one we're looking forward to making it way better than it was and having more kids."
As for right now, Johnson and his Texas A&M teammate and current Cincinnati Bengals running back Trayveon Williams are co-hosting a coat drive for Dallas students in need until December 13. For more information on the coat drive and other ways to contribute to the Everybody Needs a Buddy foundation, you can visit www.everybodyneedsabuddyfoundation.com and follow @enab_foundation on Instagram.
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