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This December marks 10 years since Zaevion Dobson, a Fulton High School football player, was killed in a random act of gun violence. Dobson, who was 15, died protecting three friends in the shooting.
Knoxville has worked to preserve Dobson's legacy in the decade since his death, including through a free football camp for kids called Camp 24, offered by the TKJ Foundation.
Former University of Tennessee safety Todd Kelly Jr. started the foundation in 2022 with Dobson on his mind and in his heart. In 2016, Kelly changed his number to 24 to match the one Dobson wore at Fulton, but he wanted to find more ways to honor the teen, who he believes "should forever have his name known here in Knoxville."
Now the camp is in its fourth year − Kelly hosted the first one out of pocket before founding the nonprofit − and hosts youth ages seven to 14 for a day of drills, competitions and reflection. Over 80 kids attended this year, Kelly said.
Kelly knew the Dobson family, he said, with Kelly's cousin in Dobson's class at Fulton. That connection made it all the more important for him to continue to tell Dobson's story. "I felt called by the Lord to do something about it," Kelly said.
Camp 24 is a way to bring community members in to a sport Dobson loved while also keeping his memory alive.
"I heard a quote that you die twice. Once is physically, and then the second time is when your name is never spoken again. And so for me it was my mission ... to make sure that his legacy lives on," Kelly said. "We call ourselves heroes, but a true hero gives his life, and he's somebody that did that."
Dobson's mom, Zenobia Dobson, plays an important role in that as a member of the TKJ Foundation's board. "There would be no Camp 24, there would be no Zaevion without Zenobia Dobson," Kelly said. She speaks each year to camp participants to share her son's story.
"TKJ Foundation, Camp 24. It's not about TKJ, Todd Kelly Jr. ... It's about Zaevion," Kelly said. "And a lot of mothers, particularly single mothers, don't get the love they should. And I can't imagine what she's been through. And so the sacrifice, the grieving, the love she had for her son, I can't fathom. And I let her express that."
Kelly hopes to impart other takeaways on campers, too, so that they leave with both football skills and life skills.
"We talk about what it means to have a good attitude, what it means to be self-disciplined, ... what's good behavior versus bad behavior," Kelly said. "And then taking that to the field, right? Taking that to your school, taking that to your community, to where you know that I learned this at Camp 24."
Kelly shared some of the messages he hopes attendees learn at Camp 24. "I want them to know that your character means everything," he said. "It's how you treat people. It's how you carry yourself. It's the things that you can control, not what's outside of your control. ... To be thankful for where you're from. ... Whatever opportunity you have that the Lord blesses you with, to utilize that the best you possibly can."
Learning happens on the field, too, as participants train together.
"In life, with the game of football, you don't win every game," Kelly said. "You prepare, you do everything you can, but you're not going to win every game. Nobody has in the history of football. But through losses, you learn."
Hayden Dunbar is the storyteller reporter. Email [email protected].
Support strong local journalism by subscribing at subscribe.knoxnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Zaevion Dobson's legacy honored at Todd Kelly Jr.'s football camp
Continue reading...
Knoxville has worked to preserve Dobson's legacy in the decade since his death, including through a free football camp for kids called Camp 24, offered by the TKJ Foundation.
Former University of Tennessee safety Todd Kelly Jr. started the foundation in 2022 with Dobson on his mind and in his heart. In 2016, Kelly changed his number to 24 to match the one Dobson wore at Fulton, but he wanted to find more ways to honor the teen, who he believes "should forever have his name known here in Knoxville."
Now the camp is in its fourth year − Kelly hosted the first one out of pocket before founding the nonprofit − and hosts youth ages seven to 14 for a day of drills, competitions and reflection. Over 80 kids attended this year, Kelly said.
'It's not about TKJ'
Kelly knew the Dobson family, he said, with Kelly's cousin in Dobson's class at Fulton. That connection made it all the more important for him to continue to tell Dobson's story. "I felt called by the Lord to do something about it," Kelly said.
Camp 24 is a way to bring community members in to a sport Dobson loved while also keeping his memory alive.
"I heard a quote that you die twice. Once is physically, and then the second time is when your name is never spoken again. And so for me it was my mission ... to make sure that his legacy lives on," Kelly said. "We call ourselves heroes, but a true hero gives his life, and he's somebody that did that."
Dobson's mom, Zenobia Dobson, plays an important role in that as a member of the TKJ Foundation's board. "There would be no Camp 24, there would be no Zaevion without Zenobia Dobson," Kelly said. She speaks each year to camp participants to share her son's story.
"TKJ Foundation, Camp 24. It's not about TKJ, Todd Kelly Jr. ... It's about Zaevion," Kelly said. "And a lot of mothers, particularly single mothers, don't get the love they should. And I can't imagine what she's been through. And so the sacrifice, the grieving, the love she had for her son, I can't fathom. And I let her express that."
Teaching football and building character
Kelly hopes to impart other takeaways on campers, too, so that they leave with both football skills and life skills.
"We talk about what it means to have a good attitude, what it means to be self-disciplined, ... what's good behavior versus bad behavior," Kelly said. "And then taking that to the field, right? Taking that to your school, taking that to your community, to where you know that I learned this at Camp 24."
Kelly shared some of the messages he hopes attendees learn at Camp 24. "I want them to know that your character means everything," he said. "It's how you treat people. It's how you carry yourself. It's the things that you can control, not what's outside of your control. ... To be thankful for where you're from. ... Whatever opportunity you have that the Lord blesses you with, to utilize that the best you possibly can."
Learning happens on the field, too, as participants train together.
"In life, with the game of football, you don't win every game," Kelly said. "You prepare, you do everything you can, but you're not going to win every game. Nobody has in the history of football. But through losses, you learn."
Hayden Dunbar is the storyteller reporter. Email [email protected].
Support strong local journalism by subscribing at subscribe.knoxnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Zaevion Dobson's legacy honored at Todd Kelly Jr.'s football camp
Continue reading...
