Paying Forward the Gifts

It speaks to benevolence, of course, but to selflessness, humility, kindness, and social awareness as well.

 

It’s the guiding principle under which TUFF – The Uniform Funding Foundation – was created in 2018 and continues to operate as it expands its outreach throughout the Midwest and points beyond.

 

Jess Speight, a 2017 Collegiate graduate and highly acclaimed two-sport athlete who went on to play football at the University of Michigan, serves as the non-profit’s chief financial officer. 

 

Founded by Adam Shibley, Speight’s college teammate, TUFF seeks partnerships and donations to cover the cost of uniforms and other essentials for youth teams in several sports, primarily football, in underserved communities.

 

When Speight speaks of TUFF’s vision and mission, he does so with a joy and passion that suggest that the organization’s work, for all involved, is truly a calling and a labor of love.

 

“The reason I joined the TUFF team,” he said, “is that growing up and going to Collegiate, I had the privilege to play every year and wear the coolest helmets and uniforms.  That’s not a luxury everyone gets. We don’t want uniforms or participation fees to deter someone from playing football. For kids in impoverished communities, football might be their way out. Coaches tell us that it keeps them off the streets and away from bad influences.”

 

At Collegiate, Speight twice earned All-Prep League, All-VISAA, and All-Metro honors in football and played a key role in the Cougars’ 2016 state championship.  He was a thrower on the track team, and in his final competition, the 2017 state meet, recorded personal bests (137-5 in the discus and a school record 55-0 in the shot put) and won state titles in both events. He served as a three-season captain in each of his last two years.

 

At 6-5, 310, he was the Wolverines’ Scout Team Player of the Year as a sophomore and appeared in 27 games throughout his career on the defensive line and special teams. He completed his undergraduate degree (B.A. in economics) in 2021 and will earn an M.M. in business management this May.

        

Despite his tight schedule, he successfully balanced coursework and football with his commitment to TUFF.

 

“Adam (Shibley) did a lot of the grunt work getting it going,” Speight said. “Four of us joined him, each with a different role.  We wanted to make it as professional as possible. We all have that entrepreneurial mindset. We were basically trying to get this small business off the ground.”

 

They did, of course. The TUFF management team has lined up several corporate partners including Gatorade and Adidas. They’ve recruited TUFF Teammates, a group of professional athletes (including former Major League baseball player Prince Fielder and Carolina Panthers’ running back Christian McCaffrey) and sports media personalities (including Maria Taylor of NBC Sports and Holly Rowe and Adam Schefter of ESPN) who have contributed to and advocate for the cause.

 

Speight is so immersed in the effort that he’s delayed the start of his job (business development consultant with Oracle based in Nashville) from May until August.

 

“In the past two years,” he said, “we’ve raised over $300,000 and donated to thousands of kids around the country.  Last summer, we donated to a team in Cleveland. These kids were having to switch cleats in between offense and defense and turnovers and change of possession. Multiple kids on the team were sharing a glove. Not gloves. A glove. TUFF is basically the vehicle for people with good hearts to give back to these impoverished communities.”

 

Teams seeking assistance can apply through TUFF’s website. The TUFF Team often learns of possible recipients through referrals and word of mouth.

 

The organization made its first donation to the Garden Valley Falcons in Cleveland, Shibley’s hometown, in 2019. Since then, it’s supported several other teams in Cleveland as well as in Chicago, Detroit, and Philadelphia.

 

At the urging of Marcus Mariota, the 2014 Heisman Trophy winner who now plays for the Las Vegas Raiders, TUFF will donate to teams in Hawaii, Mariota’s home state, this summer. Then, Speight and his colleagues will travel to Samoa to provide equipment for all six football teams on the island. On March 4, they’ll donate football, soccer, and basketball equipment to the Anna Julia Cooper School in Richmond.

 

TUFF’s impact goes beyond the tangible gifts they bestow at Donation Days.

 

“We also have TUFF Talk,” Speight said. “Typically, it’s someone who’s used football to launch their current profession. For example, if it’s someone who played but didn’t go to The League but is a successful doctor, he was launched by football. Guys like that give words of wisdom to these kids. We donate uniforms, but we also provide mentorship.”

 

There’re other intrinsic benefits.

 

“One of the coolest experiences I’ve had with TUFF was after a donation to a basketball team in Detroit last summer,” Speight said. “Some donors had given us $5000, and we got the uniforms. It was a celebration for the kids.

 

“Afterwards, one of the coaches came up with tears in his eyes and expressed how appreciative he was, how much it meant not just to the kids but to the community and the school, and how that donation freed up the rest of the funds they needed to complete a library they were building.

 

“That was very impactful for me because it was the ripple effect. It wasn’t just making kids happy. It was building a library for the school. That was a really special experience. It’s more than donating uniforms. It’s about the kids and their communities and making their communities better.”

  ~Weldon Bradshaw