It all started on the evening when the mandatory parents meeting was held for boys and girls who wanted to try out for the Phillips Middle School varsity basketball team. It was that night I met the magnificent Danica “DV” Vance. From that night on our friendship blossomed. Danica and I went from two complete strangers, to sharing a household together. I must say, I give Danica the majority of credit for my success and turning point in my lifetime. It was her who introduced me to the two most heart-warming and phenomenal people in the world: Margaret and Jeffery Vance, who are now my legal guardians. They first welcomed me into their home, then went above and beyond what anyone could have asked, guiding me towards obtaining an undergraduate degree from the very prestigious Wake Forest University. I cannot say enough about Danica, Margaret, and Jeffery. They have not only accepted me into their family, but they also welcomed my immediate family and my close friends without hesitation. It is that type of caring that makes me as an individual want to work hard and excel in everything I do. I can honestly say I was the typical high school jock who thought a sport was going to put food on the table for my family. It was the Vances who told me to value my education. In fact, I hurt my knee this past season and the very first thing Margaret and Jeffery told me was that “you don’t have to continue to play football if you don’t want to.” That alone gave me the chills, because this family has done nothing but welcome me into their home and stand behind me one hundred percent in any decision I make.
Which brings me to Jeffery Joseph Vance, also known as “JJ”. JJ was their son who passed away due to a blood clot. In the short time I knew JJ; I immediately saw he was an amazing person. He exemplified the same qualities as his family. For example, the eighth graders played the sixth and seventh graders in basketball every morning. I remember like it was yesterday when I, an ex-pencil neck, would get picked on by the eighth graders. JJ was the lone eighth grader who would step in and tell them to leave me and my friends alone. That was in fact my very first time meeting JJ. He is gone in person, but will never be gone in our hearts. He was that gentleman that every mother and father wanted their son to grow up and be like. If you associated yourself with JJ, you had no choice but to like, and want to be around him. Everyone at Phillips Middle school and East Chapel Hill High School always respected and enjoyed his company.
Many people who know me know that I love to give back to the community and of course the kids. It was one hundred and fifty percent the influence of the Vances and how they reached out to me, which guided me in the right direction. For those of you who do not know the Vance family, I promise you, “YOU ARE MISSING OUT” on what it truly means to care for others.
JJ Vance Foundation 