Ohio State sophomore offensive line Paris Johnson Jr. (77) gives fans high fives as he walks out of the stadium after the Ohio State-Maryland game Oct. 9. Ohio State won 66-17. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
During a high school football game in 2017, Paris Johnson Jr. noticed the opposing team sharing equipment, which created a lasting impression and led him to start the Paris Johnson Jr. Foundation.
Johnson, a five-star offensive line recruit from Cincinnati, started the Paris Johnson Jr. Foundation — which strives to support underprivileged athletes and homeless veterans through events and donations — his senior year of high school.
“What we want to do is we want to be able to help use the resources and the connections that we have to build opportunities for the young athletes,” Johnson said.
Johnson’s mother, Monica Daniels, said her son is known to those around him for his passion and heart for serving the community. Daniels’ remark proved true as Johnson’s eyes lit up and his body slowly unraveled when discussing his charitable organization.
Daniels said Johnson developed a special place in his heart for veterans at a young age after hearing their struggles while volunteering at the Special Olympics and growing up with family members who served in the Navy.
Johnson said being from Ohio and a part of Ohio State’s football team provides him with a drive for serving young athletes. He said the main reason he is passionate about serving young athletes is because of the sacrifices others have made for him.
“In my own life, I’ve had a lot of people that have helped pour into my life to help me be a better athlete, and people have also sacrificed to help me be where I am,” Johnson said. “But there’s a lot of families that don’t even have the funds or the time or the opportunities to even have anything to sacrifice.”
Johnson said he credits his successes to his mother. He said his mother is his biggest supporter and confidant, as well as president of the foundation.
“She’s the reason where I’m at right now in terms of being able to play college football here and getting an education here, with my foundation, so from the beginning she’s been sacrificing a lot for me, financially, time-wise, since I was younger,” Johnson said.
Daniels said she was the one who encouraged Johnson to start his own foundation.
“I challenged him one day and I said, ‘Why don’t you start a foundation and giving back and serving and bringing awareness?’ ” Daniels said. “He was like, ‘I can do that?’ I was like, ‘Yeah,’ so I helped him form the foundation.”
From that moment on, Johnson said he and Daniels spent countless hours researching the process of starting a nonprofit organization.
Jeff Ruby, Johnson’s mentor who later became his godfather, said Johnson found him through his research process. Johnson discovered that the local celebrity and Cincinnati public figure also started his own foundation. Intrigued and wanting to learn more, Johnson then contacted Ruby for advice and guidance on the process of starting a foundation from the ground up.
According to the foundation’s website, they are dedicated to “empowering and serving disabled veterans and disadvantaged student athletes with dignity and respect.”
The foundation strives to achieve their mission statement by providing events to support disadvantaged veterans and athletes.
The foundation’s most recent event partnered with sponsors to provide lunch, toiletries, groceries and water to veterans in need. During the event, Daniels and Johnson had the opportunity to connect with the veterans.
“While we were interacting with them, we sat down and had lunch with them, but we also had an opportunity to find out what their needs were and to just figure out how we can serve the population beyond giving them food and clothes, but really introducing them to resources to help them and their time and needs,” Daniels said.
According to its website, the foundation has already impacted over 100 veterans and 250 student-athletes through four events and raised over $8,000.
Daniels said the foundation is now focusing on the next way it can make a difference through a possible toy drive as the holiday season approaches.
Daniels and Johnson said the community plays an important role within the foundation, whether through donations, volunteering or even educating them on resources they may be unaware of.
Johnson said the foundation means a lot to him because of his personal connection to football.
“I feel this is part of the reason I play football and why I feel this is my purpose. I feel like I’m using football as an avenue to, of course, take care of my family, but at the same time my legacy off the field is far more important and would be more remembered than what I do on the field,” Johnson said.
