Teens living in Youth Villages’ group homes in Nashville attended their annual summer cookout expecting giant waterslides, obstacle courses and hamburgers, but this year, there was a surprise for the teens. Joining in this year’s festivities was Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis.

Levis approached the youth who were playing a football toss game, and then proceeded to throw the ball with them, answer questions about football and his career, enjoy dinner, sign autographs and keep his promise of going down the water slide – many times.

When youth live in a group home setting, they miss out on certain childhood summer experiences like vacations and summer camp, so Youth Villages prioritizes outings like hiking or going to the movies to ensure they still make happy memories. This event, of course, was one-of-a-kind.

Each youth received brand-new shoes and a backpack from Levis’ sponsor, NOBULL. The backpacks were filled with Tennessee Titans gear and other essential items.

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Three of Nashville’s four major broadcast news networks covered the event, and Will’s passion for mentorship and giving back to his new community is the reason he invited the youth’s mentors to join in the fun as well.

When addressing the group, Levis shared how he has relied on mentors throughout his career and emphasized that it takes courage to ask for help, but it is worth the support system you get in return.

Mentors in Youth Villages group homes volunteer their time monthly to spend time together and taking youth on outings. When children are system-involved, there are plenty of adults in their lives whose job it is to check in, so having a caring adult who is making a choice to show up consistently makes a big impact.

The event was hosted by UnitedHealthcare and took place at River Run Farm, an outing familiar to the teens who go monthly for an escape to nature. They even have their own area of the garden they tend from seed to harvest with their favorite produce, which they belovedly describe as their “pizza and salsa” garden. Special thanks to The Ridge for donating dinner, and Doug and Dolly’s Cookie Cottage for donating dessert for the youth and volunteers.

If you are interested in becoming a mentor for one of the youth in our community-based programs, learn more and apply here, youthvillages.org/mentor.

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