Amyri grew up watching her older sister, Jamilyn, compete in volleyball and basketball, and from a young age, she followed in her footsteps. In eighth grade Amyri started her club volleyball journey at Red Storm Volleyball Club in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Through her family, church and high school, community service was something Amyri knew about firsthand, participating in food drives, meal deliveries, and her current role as an NIL Student-Athlete for Samaritan’s Feet International.
Through her partnership with Samaritan’s Feet International, Amyri has raised almost $12,000 and is on her way to reaching her goal of serving 4,000 people with new shoes along with a message of hope. Samaritan’s Feet is a humanitarian aid non-profit that serves and inspires hope by providing shoes to those in need around the world. A new pair of shoes can provide a tangible foundation of hope and the opportunity for a better life, prompt children to focus in school and families not to worry, and protect feet to decrease the possibility of getting a foot-borne disease.
“I am able to give hope to thousands of people through shoe distributions, which I believe will make a difference in the lives of many. It’s not just about raising money and giving people shoes, although that’s important too. I see it as an opportunity to show anybody that’s struggling that there are people out there who genuinely want to help them; that there is hope for things to get better,” said Amyri.
Last year Amyri and her parents partnered with Samaritan’s Feet International and held a shoe distribution at the elementary school that her father attended. The experience touched Amyri’s heart and inspired her to want to do more. Samaritan’s Feet Regional Development & Sports Initiative Manager Kathy Slyder has a background in volleyball and connected with Amyri through social media about representing the organization as an NIL Student Athlete for Samaritan’s Feet. Through Amyri’s NIL Partnership with Samaritan’s Feet International, she needs to raise $100,000 to give Louisianans 4,000 pairs of new shoes, and has been on a mission to fulfill her goal to reach others in a way that she hasn’t been able to before.
Amyri, with her parents, has been actively raising funds through social media campaigns to promote her fundraising page. Through this experience she has been fortunate to build relationships with younger volleyball athletes in her community and become a role model for them to lean on, look up to or to simply talk to. Volleyball has served as a platform for her to be a leader in her community and make a positive impact on so many lives.
One of Amyri’s favorite quotes from Kobe Bryant resonates with her. He said, “Everything negative- pressure, challenges- it’s all an opportunity for me to rise.” Rather than focus on the difficulty of the challenges, it’s how you respond to them. Amyri strives to be the best teammate, student athlete, and leader that she can be, with a goal of competing at the collegiate level, bringing value to a college program by helping them achieve big goals.
“I love watching the teams in the Pro Volleyball Federation and last season I followed Reagan Cooper, Asjia O’Neal, Leah Edmond. The Atlanta Vibe and Omaha Supernovas were really good teams. I have been watching and studying a lot of college and professional volleyball in preparation for the next level,” shared Amyri.
If you feel compelled to help Amyri impact more lives and reach her fundraising goal for Samaritan’s Feet, please visit her fundraising page here.
Red Storm Volleyball (Baton Rouge, LA) is a member of the Junior Volleyball Association, a non-profit organization with over 1,600 junior volleyball clubs dedicated to enhancing the junior volleyball experience for players, coaches, clubs and fans.
