In addition to the enormous monetary response, comments flooded in from former players, students and parents. A comment from Class of 1986 graduate and current University of Georgia head baseball coach David Perno read, “Coach, you are the best! I love you and can’t describe in words what you have meant to me. Please know you are one of a kind and God bless you for all the inspiration that you have provided through your lifetime.”
Weeks into the campaign, enough money had been raised to help afford Henderson’s in-home nursing care, as well as help relieve the weight of medical bills. What began simply as a fundraising campaign has grown into the creation of the It Can Be Done Foundation, which derives its name from one of Henderson’s most well-known mottos.
“It started out as a ‘Let’s raise a couple thousand dollars to get some nurses over there’ and now it’s turned into a full-blown ongoing mission,” Hurst said. “We want to be able to give back to anyone that needs it. Whatever Coach Henderson’s passion is, wherever he wants it to go to give back to the people that have given so much to him, that’s where it’s gonna go.”
The foundation, while in its early stages, is already planning future fundraising events and deciding what the money will go towards. According to Alexander, the top priority of the foundation will be giving back to help Henderson, while the foundation will also donate to charitable entities in Henderson’s name.
“There’s been roughly $20,000 raised on the site, but we’ve raised close to $50,000 in all,” Alexander said. “The second goal is $100,000 and we’re halfway there.”
Henderson is eager to see what kind of difference the new foundation can make in the community and more specifically, in the lives of people in need. The retired coach is sensitive to the struggles of parents and children in need, because of his own experiences as a child.
“I grew up without a father. My dad died when I was nine. My mother had four kids to raise and she would walk to and from work just to save a nickel in bus fare so I could play (sports),” Henderson said. “We have a lot of youngsters here in Athens and there’s a lot of need for (this foundation). One of the things that I used to like to do was come to the (YMCA) and have the football clinics. You could pick the mothers out who couldn’t do for their kids what the other mothers could. We could target them.”
While giving back to the community is one of the focuses of the new foundation, helping Henderson remains the top priority. According to Hurst, Henderson has remained humble and generous through the entire process, seeming more excited to help others than to help himself.
Henderson holds the hand of his daughter, Carol Brooks, on April 22 in the lobby of the Athens YMCA. “He’s made tremendous progress since we’ve brought him home,” Brooks said. “He’s done unbelievably well.”
“There’s nothing anybody would not do for that man in this town. His legacy is amazing,” Hurst said. “He’s such a humble person and he’s still about motivating people. We asked him the other day, ‘What do you think about this foundation?’ and he said ‘This is great, we can help other people!’ He just doesn’t see that we are all there to help him. He’s ready to help other people.”
The It Can Be Done Foundation is yet another positive community influence that has come from Henderson’s legendary legacy and it reflects the values and characteristics that people have come to love Henderson for. The retired coach is known for many accomplishments at CCHS, including 222 football victories, 12 football region championships and one football national title, but to this day, Henderson says that the most thrilling moment of his career has nothing to do with winning games. It has to do with unity in a time of division.
“We were in the weight room and we had over 100 players in those seats. And I saw every hand together. The greatest thrill I ever had was watching that scene on Thanksgiving Day 1977,” Henderson recalled. “Black hands holding white hands, rich hands holding poor hands, all walks of life together. If the world could be like that, we’d have no problems.”
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