Gentry's New Perspective Foundation delivers strong message

PERKINS TWP. — The New Perspective Foundation is a testament to making the most of difficult situations that life sometimes deals to individuals. It was also the message delivered by the foundation and its guest speaker Roy Hall, at the local fundraising breakfast Friday morning at the Kalahari Resort Convention Center. "This is one of our main sources of income to keep the foundation up and running, and to just have local businesses that are run by people in the local community that we know continue to support us year after year, grateful is the word that keeps coming to mind," said Tyson Gentry, founder of the New Perspective Foundation. "Honestly, it's always great to come back home in the community you grew up in. There are just so many great memories." Gentry, a 2004 Perkins High graduate, was a punter and scout-team receiver at Ohio State University when he suffered a spinal cord injury during a Buckeye spring practice in 2006. He created the foundation in 2014 to provide assistance to families that have a loved one who has stuffed a spinal cord injury. Since its inception, the New Perspective Foundation has raised more that $300,000, which has been used as grants to help travel expenses of more than 100 families in Ohio, Florida and Georgia. "We get so caught up in everything in the world that is wrong that you sometimes need someone to come in and kind of shift gears and remind you what is most important, and that's the fact that you have a life to be thankful for," said Hall, a former OSU receiver and Gentry teammate who was drafted in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts. "We have to understand that we all go through different things," he added. "A minute here or a minute there too late and maybe Tyson is not here, but the fact that we had great doctors, great surgeons, great first-responders to get him to the hospital, he's here and he's making a difference. Whenever I get the opportunity to put things into perspective for people, I like taking advantage of that." Hall was also the guest speaker at the first New Perspective fundraising breakfast seven years ago. "When you first start out, it's cute, it's nice," he said. "No one really know which way it's going to go, how long it's going to be around. But if you keep good people around you and use the community to built the organization, it just continues to grow ... so to be able to come back seven years later and see how large the organization is and the impact Tyson and his family and the New Perspective Foundation has made over the the last few years, it's absolutely awesome. "It's definitely inspirational. Just the fact that he continued to keep going, even through the pandemic, is awesome to see." Hall, who founded the Driven Foundation to help families in Ohio to combat poverty, was instrumental in helping Gentry create the New Perspective Foundation. "He helped me by giving me the blueprint for what he did in fundraising," Gentry said of Hall. "He came out and that was really the kickoff for doing our community fundraiser. Now he's back to speak again and it's neat to see how things have progressed over the years. For him to be back for our seventh fundraiser, its pretty special." "When Tyson crossed over from just being a punter to being a receiver, he had to come to the receiver room and we had to help," Hall said. "We had the knowledge and wisdom on how to run routes and route depth and the importance of catching the football and being a receiver and it's the same thing here. When he wanted to start his own organization, he wanted a blueprint on how to raise fund, how to get people involved, what are some cool things to get kids involved and get the community active. "We just laid out how we did it and some things he could try, and he was open to all of it. Now, he's taken it to another level. I think now I need to go interview him on what he's doing because he's really making a difference." Hall also delivered a very personal message, speaking up the recent passing of former OSU and NFL safety, William White. "This Buckeye Brotherhood is a little bit different than the traditional, 'I was someone's teammate in college,'" Hall said. "We say we bleed Scarlet and Gray, and whenever blood is shed, there's a battle, there's a fight, there's life at stake. Life continues to move forward and to go in different directions, but we can't lose perspective that today is a gift and while we're here, we've got to make a difference. "We lost our brother, William White, who was an awesome navigator of young men, creating pathways for us to be able to go to to the next level outside of football and allowed us to see what you can really do with this Ohio State platform. I'm just thankful to be able to have known him, and obviously, with Tyson as well." Part of the attendees at the breakfast, which included a silent auction of memorabilia, were members of local high school football teams. In addition, representatives from Perkins High School announced that it is dedicating it home locker room at Firelands Health Stadium in honor of Gentry. "What really comes to mind, after my injury just how much this community rallied around me and helped with fundraising and help with anything I really needed early on," Gentry said prior to the breakfast. "That first period after the injury was really difficult and just seeing how the community has rallied around me over all these years, I'm just very grateful." The fundraising efforts continue today with the New Perspective golf scramble at Sawmill Creek Golf Club, with Sandusky Bay Pancake House, Chick-fil-A and Cameo Pizza providing meals throughout the day. There is also a New Perspective raffle that will close sales of tickets for four tickets and a parking pass to the OSU home opener against Notre Dame on Sept. 3. For more information on the New Perspective Foundation, along with the raffle, go to www.newperspective.org.