Campers and volunteers start to work on building up the tower.
It’s a big project with a lot of people volunteering to make the Light Foundation’s dream a reality.
Drew Terhall
DailyAdvocate.com
GREENVILLE — The fourth annual Timber Frame Leadership Camp at Chenoweth Trails wrapped up on July 20 after three days of working to construct a 56-foot bell tower.
The Light Foundation, co-founded by former NFL player and three-time Super Bowl champion Matt Light and his wife Susie, had seventeen young campers work together to learn STEAM skills (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics). The end product was the bell tower.
“The three-day camp we just completed was a success! We had seventeen young people join us to learn the art of timber framing while raising the base of the bell tower,” Light said. “It was awesome to see it all come together and make this dream a reality.”
This project was the second time the Light Foundation worked with Lowe’s. Light is a member of the Lowe’s Home Team, a group of current and former NFL players that work with Lowe’s to help communities.
There was also a ton of local support for the project. Local lumber and woodworking businesses joined Lowe’s to sponsor the camp. Local craftsmen also volunteered to assist the campers during the three-day event.
The tower will be utilized during Light’s youth programs. It will be used to celebrate the start of an event or be used to acknowledge an individual’s accomplishment during the program. The tower ties in all the programs the Light Foundation offers that serve the youth.
“We will utilize the bell in our programming as a way to ‘ring in’ a special moment at one of our youth programs, as well as a unique way to honor an individual’s accomplishment. We will also use the bell as an incentive or to start an event,” Light said. “One thing we won’t do is allow the bell to be rung without somehow first earning the right to do so.”
There is still some work to be done on the tower. The campers did most of the project and assisted in getting the base assembled. Even with the tower not fully completed, the campers got the most out of the camp.
“The tower will be completed over the next few weeks by our grounds team. The campers helped us get the brunt of the project complete while learning the skills of the trade and of course, leadership!” Light said.
Contact Daily Advocate Sports Editor Drew Terhall at [email protected]
