A Saint, A Father, And A Hope

 

  Bivian (Sonny) Lee III 

(Founder/President)

   Jeremy Boyce 

(Chairman of Foundation)

       This weekend coming up is Father's Day. A day which we give thanks for the man who has raised us. There are a number of us who had a father growing up. We all have friends who we grew up with who didn't have a father. I can't begin to imagine how incredibly hard this would be for any child. One of those kids who grew up without his father is Bivian (Sonny) Lee, III.  His father Bivian Lee was a New Orleans Saints defensive back from 1971 to 1975. He died tragically from a heart-attack at the age of 36. His son Bivian (Sonny) Lee III was 3 years old at the time.  Sonny with the help of his mother, family, and friends was fortunate enough to become a successful, and happy young man. Sonny, unfortunately has been the exception to the rule when it comes to growing up without a father. The odds are stacked against those young men and boys who find themselves in this predicament. Sonny has decided to help put those odds back in the favor of those who are fatherless by launching SON OF A SAINT Sports Foundation. I was fortunate enough to sit down with Sonny to talk to him about his latest endeavor.

I appreciate you taking time out of your day to sit down to talk with us. How have you been?

Terrific, it's another great day in New Orleans!

Before you began the SON A SAINT foundation what were doing?

I was working with the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra. Prior to that I had stints with the New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Zephyrs.

What  drove you to begin the foundation? 

The urge to give back to the community and my unfortunate knowledge of the fatherless world.

How did your  time working with Tom Benson and the New Orleans Zephyrs help you form your vision of the foundation?

When your around a successful man like Benson and experience great times at Zephyrs stadium only positives can come out of it.  I had a bird's eye view of how to organize, plan, and execute from  true sports professionals.

What is the goal the SON OF A SAINT FOUNDATION?

Our goal is to fill the void in a fatherless males' life. This means  help educating him, being there to watch him graduate college, and giving him the best opportunity to succeed.

What is the perfect day in your opinion  for the foundation?

Kids smiling, laughing, learning, and going home excited about who they are becoming.

How much of a factor do you see team sports play in a young man's development and how?
 
Huge. He learns discipline, accountability, teamwork,  and how to never give up...the list goes on and on.

What is the next step for a 9 year old who goes through your program for a year? Do you cut him loose?
 
We take in 9-13 year olds and the idea is for them to stay in our program until they receive their college acceptance letter.

What is the incentive for a single mother other than their child getting fees paid for sports they can look forward too?

Positive male bonding for their son. Their son will learn how to tie a tie, change a flat tire,  and know the importance of treating a woman with respect, etc...
 

If I wanted to donate to the  foundation what options do I have?

 
You can donate through our website which is the easiest at  www.sonofasaint.org

When we sit down in a year from now and chat where do you envision  SON OF A SAINT will be?
 

We currently have 10 kids in our program. A year from now you will see a great deal of progress in those ten kids and even more males being helped by our organization.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing great things from SON OF SAINT.

Thank you and we look forward to making a positive impact on New Orleans and her youth.

SON OF A SAINT FOUNDATION.org