AJ Francis (Top Dolla) promotes his annual food drive.
On Saturday, November 18, AJ Francis will host his seventh annual canned food drive. The drive will take place at the University Of Maryland while the school's college football team is facing the University Of Michigan.
While speaking to Fightful for a new interview, Francis talked about the history of the food drive, which he started doing before he even began wrestling.
"It’s the seventh annual, I’ve been doing this for years, before I started wrestling. I was really doing it all the way back in high school, but it became my event when I got to the NFL. I’m very grateful to give back to my community. Every year we get lucky because the whole thing is themed around Thanksgiving and we want to be able to provide food for those in need at Sarah’s House in Fort Meade, Maryland. It’s crazy because we always do it the Saturday before Thanksgiving and we always end up getting crazy match ups like this year is Michigan, last year was Ohio State, the year before that was Michigan and before that was Ohio State. We always get great matchups and great games for people to come out to. More importantly, those fanbases travel well. Their fans travel well, they’re number two in the country, and it’s for a great cause."
Francis went on to talk about fine tuning his approach to the food drive and how it is not as stressful as it used to be.
"One thing I learned, more than anything is to not worry about the process. I used to try and plan it out all year. I know the date I’m doing it, but the actual planning of the event and particulars of things that need to be done, I try to plan that out three or four months in advance. You end up dragging teeth because the people you’re working with, they’re worried about what they’re doing next week. The football program itself, whether it before the college or Sarah’s House, they’re worried about the people they have to take care of right now, they’re not worried about November. In July, they’re not worried about November, they’re worried about the people they have to worry about at this moment. For me, I love the fact that it’s such a part of the Maryland culture now, my event, so that I can wait until two weeks before to hit people up, ‘this is what I need.’ ‘Alright, cool, got it.’ It’s not as stressful as it used to be. I’m still doing it myself. I have good relationships, not just in the wrestling media, but sports media, and wrestlers themselves, entertainers, former athletes, Maryland alumni. They are more than willing to try to help because they know it’s a good cause and they appreciate what I’m trying to do and they want to be part of it."
Francis finished off by talking about the other events that he partners with Sarah's House for, including Trunk or Treats and Back To School drives.
"The majority of the people at Sarah’s House are children. To be able to provide for the children is the thing that means the most to me. This isn’t the only event I do. My family, we do Trunk or Treat, we do Back to School drives, we do Toy Drives for Christmas ever year. There are kids there, but some are high school kids, and I’m not the only big child in in the world. I will donate my sneakers to kids that can fit in them. I have been blessed with a life that I live comfortably and I have trouble finding shoes for not a ridiculous price. These are things that I try to give back to my community because I am so grateful. Middle school, I wasn’t the best player on my team. High school, I wasn’t the best player on my team. I just always put the work in. I didn’t get hurt, I stayed out of trouble, and I had a dad that made sure I stayed on the right path to make sure I accomplished my goals and my dad is the reason I do these events. He started me on these events when I was a kid. My dad is a great example, but not everybody has that example, so I try to be there for the people that need it the most."
Fans can learn more details about AJ Francis' canned food drive by clicking here.
Furthermore, fans can see Fightful's full interview with AJ Francis in the video linked above.
