Godwin Lawson was 17 years old when he was fatally stabbed in 2010 while trying to help his friends who were being attacked in north London. British Dallas Cowboys coach Aden Durd says his story stood out when he was deciding which charity to support with the NFL’s My Cause, My Cleats campaign.
Godwin Lawson’s name and life will never be forgotten. Dallas Cowboys defensive coach Aden Derde is determined to make sure of this.
His mother Yvonne and father Calvin subsequently founded the Godwin Lawson Foundation in 2012 to honor their son’s memory with the aim of preventing gun and knife crime, guiding young people towards opportunity and avoiding gang life.
This is the reason and the story that instantly piqued Derda when he was deciding which charity to support with the NFL’s My Cause, My Cleats initiative, in which the British coach wore custom-designed Union Jack sneakers, the name Godwin Lawson and inspiring adjectives during the defeat of Dallas by the Las Vegas Raiders on Thanksgiving Day.
“I went to the NFL UK office and I wanted to donate to a charity in my area that does positive work but less charity. I think this is really important, I think there are many people who do a lot of really good work that goes unnoticed, “Derde told British reporters.
“There are big charities that are doing great work, but I think there are many smaller charities that do real work with young people, especially this is important to me in my area and I just wanted to highlight that, and I have a bunch of charities that I looked at.
“These problems, especially in my area in north London, are important and important for most cities, as I remember it when I saw Godwin’s charity. that I wanted to work with them. That’s why I’m doing this, it’s close to my heart. “
As of 25 November, 28 teenagers are believed to have been killed in London in 2021, one less than the record number of 29 in 2008.
Durde, a father of two sons, 18 and 24, may be more than 4,000 miles from home, but he still feels the impact of what remains a common problem in the capital and across the UK.
“I saw the consequences of it, I saw the people it happened to, I know the people it happened to, I trained the children it happened to, I saw how it affects families,” he said.
