In Baltimore, at the invitation of then-Ravens cornerback James Trapp, Reed visited Booker T. in 2002 as a rookie. He quickly grew to love working with inner-city kids.
Trapp, who played on the Ravens' Super Bowl team in the 2000 season, knew his time in Baltimore was up. He saw in Reed a successor to the program he started in 1999 with Jim Hamlin, a retired community relations manager at UPS and a Booker T. graduate.
"Ed wasn't a wild guy," said Trapp, now a chaplain for the Atlanta Falcons. "He was kind of reserved, and you could see he had a heart for helping people."
His own money
Since then, The Ed Reed Eye of the Hurricane Foundation has poured time, money and energy into Booker T. Washington and other causes. Reed sponsors a high school football camp and golf tournament in Louisiana each summer. According to Bita Khorrami, executive director of Reed's foundation, Reed sent $70,000 to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Over the past five years, Khorrami said, the foundation has donated about $350,000 to various causes.
"Ed is more than a philanthropist," she said. "He is willing to put his own money out there when others aren't."
At the beginning of each school year, Reed provides supplies for needy students. Each Thanksgiving and Christmas, his foundation provides turkeys for families that can't afford them. Last year, he gave 120 students $150 each to spend on Christmas gifts. The students are selected by their teachers based on need. And he has a party at the end of the year to reward students who make the honor roll.
When Reed found out Booker T. students didn't use their lockers because items would disappear, he bought 600 locks. He also paid for a $5,000 kiln to bake clay in the pottery classes. Khorrami said Reed has contributed between $85,000 and $100,000 - out of his own pocket - to Booker T. over the past five years.
Then there is Reed's LORDS program (leadership, order, respect, discipline, success), which rewards 20-25 students with tickets to a Ravens home game. Tickets are based on attendance, discipline and academics.
Hamlin, who continues to help at Booker T., said the changes at the school will be life-lasting.
"It's a combination of behavior, attitude and a sense of pride in the school and pride in themselves," Hamlin said of the impact. "All that we're doing here and all that Ed's doing here will be in the minds of the kids forever and a day."
Robinson said the most tangible results are in improved attendance, but that benefits run deeper.
"Ed shows our kids they deserve to be recognized for the good things they do," she said. "His presence alone and his involvement shows them they have something to be proud of. ... He's truly a humanitarian."
From a distance, Parquet sees the cycle begin anew.
"Ed's a tremendous guy, and I'm so proud of him," Reed's mentor said.
"Think of how many Ed Reeds are out there that didn't get the help to go forward. He realizes that, too. And deep down, that's why he gives so much. He sees himself in a lot of those kids, and he wants them to be successful."
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