NFL star Mario Addison comes home to Birmingham to give thanks and more
Carolina Panthers defensive end Mario Addison shares hugs during his visit Thursday to his childhood neighborhood of Vice Hill, now known as North Birmingham Homes. (Solomon Crenshaw Jr. / Alabama NewsCenter)
Mario Addison has fond memories of Thanksgivings in his youth.
And many of those memories revolve around food.
“My grandmama used to always cook,” he recalled Thursday at North Birmingham Homes public housing community. “I’d eat with my grandmama and then I’d go to different family houses I know around here and eat there. By the time I’d get home, I’d have put on 15 pounds.”
Who says you can’t go home again? Certainly not Addison, a member of the National Football League’s Carolina Panthers.
The defensive end took advantage of the Panthers’ bye week to return to his childhood neighborhood – then known as Vice Hill – to deliver more than 250 Thanksgiving turkeys to residents there and in nearby Collegeville. He even visited the apartment in which his mother, Anionette Addison, and grandmother, Willie Mae Addison, raised him, delivering a turkey to the current residents.
Keontra Benson lives there now, along with her three sons – 12-year-old Leamarion, 11-year-old Kerion and 5-year-old Keondre. Benson, who is from Illinois, was taken aback as Addison and his mother led a caravan of media and others to her front door.
“This is a bit lot,” she said.
The Tarrant High School product and Troy University standout had taken part in similar efforts by pro football teammates.
“This year, I was able to do it in my community,” he said. “I wanted to give them out personally. It’s very special for me to give them to them personally so I can look everybody in their eyes and just show them that I care.
“It ain’t about me,” the 30-year-old continued. “It’s about the kids and the families I grew up with. I just want to show them I really care.”
Addison’s broad shoulders are used to anchoring the Panthers’ defensive line. Thursday, those shoulders got a workout as he hugged many friends and neighbors.
The Mario Addison Foundation partnered with the Housing Authority Birmingham District (HABD), Piggly Wiggly grocers, state Rep. Mary Moore and state Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison to make the giveaway happen.
“That’s what God has us to do,” Moore said. “Anything we do in life, it ought to be directed by God. The best thing any of us can do is be of service to his people.”
NFL’s Mario Addison helps his old Birmingham neighborhood set the table for Thanksgiving from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
HABD Executive Director Michael Lundy said this isn’t the first time Addison has made a difference in his hometown.
“It’s refreshing that someone who’s been successful in his career is willing to come back and give to the community,” he said. “He came to our Father’s Day initiative (and) spoke to about 200 youths. He also donated 50 tickets for us to take 50 kids to one of their games in December. He’s done a lot to give back to this community.”
And the community cherished it.
“I’m proud of him and I appreciate him,” said Kesha Watts, who’s lived in North Birmingham Homes for 14 years. “He did a very good thing.”
Property manager Leigh Williams said Addison’s greatest gift is being a role model for youngsters in public housing communities.
“He is the prime example what you can do,” she said. “Often the kids here feel there are only two options: There’s hell or there’s jail. By having Mario here, they see there is more they can do and that they can succeed at. There’s more options than just those two.”
Benson said the visit from her apartment’s former resident will make Thanksgiving special.
“All I’ve got to do is buy my sides now to go with my turkey,” she said. “Hopefully we’ll see you next year.”
Said Addison: “I’ll be here.”
