Brett Jones, centre for the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL, came back to his hometown to hold a charitable golf tournament, and held a free football camp for local children.
He is happy to be able to give back to the community where he was born and raised, and where he first began playing football.
“Weyburn means a lot to me. It’s where I got to grow up and play all the sports that I got to play. I learned all different life lessons here, and I’m grateful to come from a great place like this,” said Jones. “It’s full of great people, great volunteers and now I have come to give of my time and to help in any way I can. I’m more than happy to do it, it’s really rewarding.”
His sister Chelsea and friends Dallas Cossar and Logan Roysum put to together his charity golf tournament, which led to a donation back to the golf course of $26,000 towards their irrigation project.
At the tournament, he donated a couple of jerseys to be auctioned off, and he donated the proceeds of that auction to the Family Place, a total of $1,600. One jersey was bought by Jeff Chessall for $1,000, and the other was by Scott and Dana Thiedig for $600.
Jones also donated $5,000 to the Weyburn Group Homes Society, to go towards buying a new lift for one of their buses.
On Wednesday evening, he held a free football camp attended by about 40 children, with free T-shirts provided.
He was assisted by players and coaches from the Regina Rams, who helped him set up different stations, where they worked on skills for playing the game, and they finished the evening with some flag football action.
“I enjoy doing this camp every year,” said Jones, looking out at the field where groups of children were out throwing footballs around. “The kids are really excited, and summer’s around the corner. When they come back from summer, football will be on in the fall, so it’s good for Weyburn Minor Football, and to get the kids interested in football.”
He noted the large number of girls on hand for the camp, and said this is a good thing as football is all-inclusive which anyone can play.
“I just enjoy it so much, especially to see these little kids and see the smile on their face. Seeing kids come back year after year, it’s a lot of fun,” said Jones.
This will be his second year with the Vikings, and he will be reporting to training camp on July 25, giving him a couple more weeks to spend with his family.
“We have a really good team. I want to contribute to the Vikings wherever they see fit, and I’m looking forward to this new season. It should be a really great year,” said Jones.
Prior to the NFL, he played with the Calgary Stampeders, and upcoming he will be attending their game versus the Roughriders.
“It’s one of the first times in a long time I’ve got to see the Stampeders play during the regular season. It’s going to be exciting. There’s only a few guys left on the team that I still know, but there’s a couple of them. I’ll get to see them before the game, so I’m really excited for that,” said Jones.
