Donnie Douglas
Editor
ROWLAND — Vonta Leach is renowned for his willingness to give back to his native Rowland.
Now it’s the town’s turn.
On Saturday, the town will hold a parade in honor of Leach, a graduate of South Robeson High School and East Carolina University, and now the proud wearer of a Super Bowl ring for his work as an All-Pro fullback for the Baltimore Ravens, who defeated the San Francisco 49ers on Feb. 3 on football’s biggest stage.
The parade will begin at 11 a.m. with a procession down Main Street; units and floats should assemble at about 10 a.m. at Rowland Middle School. More celebration will follow the parade at the Rowland Ballpark on McCormick Street. The whole event is scheduled to last about three hours.
Anyone wanting information on the event or to enter a unit in the parade should call the town at 910-422-3333. There is no charge to enter the parade.
The town is asking for donations to pay for the event. After the bills are paid, any money remaining will go to the Vonta Leach Foundation.
In a recent article by The Charlotte Observer about Leach, a source close to the football player estimated he had given the town about $400,000 in donations in recent years.
According to the article, Leach:
n Has held a free summer football camp every year since 2006. The camp had more than 600 participants last year.
n Paid off a mortgage of more than $200,000 for New Hope United Methodist Church, his home church.
— Has given $100 gift cards to nearly 400 kids since 2007 for an annual holiday shopping spree at the Walmart in Lumberton. The biggest spree, for 120 kids, was in 2012.
— Has provided thousands of dollars in scholarships to high school students.
— Renovated his high school weight room and bought the middle school football team new helmets, pads and jerseys, at a cost of about $15,000.
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