RayJaun Stelly, The Seattle Medium
Last year on October 19, the Central District community lost a pioneer, a family man, a coach, beloved figure in the neighborhood, and throughout King County, D’Vonne Pickett Jr. Entrepreneur and father of three was shot while closing his business — The Postman, the mailing and shipping business he and his wife opened together – for the day. His death, due to gun violence, happened during Little League football season and devastated the team that he was coaching at the time – the 6U Central District Panthers football team.
Looking to honor Pickett’s legacy, King County Councilmembers Girmay Zahilay and Rod Dembowski launched the D’Vonne and KeAnna Pickett Scholarship to support the positive vision and engagement of kids in the community. The scholarship, which now totals $100,000, will also help reduce the barriers of participation for current and future young boys and girls in the CD Panther program by covering costs associated with membership, equipment, travel, events, and other necessities.
“Last year, the CD Panthers youth football and cheer team lost one of their coaches, D’Vonne Pickett, to gun violence. We wanted his legacy to live on, in part, through the D’Vonne and KeAnna Pickett Scholarship that Councilmember Rod Dembowski and I launched,” Zahilay expressed. “It’s really a great way of making sure D’Vonne’s legacy lives on through a program that he really cared about.”
“We’re investing $100,000 to ensure D’Vonne Pickett, Jr.’s legacy continues,” said Zahilay. “He was a big mentor for this program, he wanted the best for these kids, and we want to show them that even though he’s gone in a tragic way his impact and legacy is not gone. Your commitment to the game, your commitment to your community, your commitment to your families, that is all D’Vonne’s spirit running through you.”
The ceremonial scholarship check was presented to the CD Panthers during their practice last week, as the team prepared for their opening game of the season.
“We’re just having a great time watching this practice of the cheer team and young football players learning about integrity, teamwork, and leadership skills,” said Dembowski. “These young people lost a coach and so we thought it was appropriate to pay tribute to him and to her [KeAnna], in terms of the strength she has brought and continues to bring to the program.”
Aside from Councilmembers Zahilay and Dembowski being in attendance, Seattle Seahawks Vice President of Community Engagement and Legends Mario Bailey, who grew up in the Seattle community, was also present handing out backpacks and pins. In addition, Bailey made it clear that members of the Seahawks organization including players and the team mascot will be present for the CD Panthers’ ‘Grandparents Day’ games on Sept. 9.
“We came back to honor D’Vonne Pickett, and also honor the kids,” said Bailey. “We want to show that as the Seattle Seahawks, we support the Panthers as much as we can.”
The funds provided to the CD Panthers came from King County’s Youth and Amateur Sports Grant Program, which supports the safe re-activation of youth sports and outdoor recreation. The program prioritized organizations with deep ties in underserved communities, with a special emphasis on organizations led by people of color throughout the county.
“This amount of money isn’t usually given to a program,” said Pickett. “$100,000, we are hoping can really keep our program strong, sustainable, and implement some new things. My son, especially, all the time is like this is for dad, he keeps saying in his thoughts and in his motivation, a lot of his teammates bring him up, it’s really nice he has that support.”
According to Shavon Robinson, Vice President, and Head Coach of the cheer team for the CD Panthers, some of the funds have already been utilized to lower registration fees for participants and families this season and next season. In addition, they’ve been able to get equipment such as helmets, pants, pads, etc., and they are planning to create a youth girl’s flag football team and hope to add other programs outside of football as well.
“The money is a blessing, I am grateful for D’Vonne being a part of our organization and being able to continue to provide youth sports to the next generation and generations to come,” said Robinson. “I am grateful that this money will help us do that, we’re [CD Panthers Organization] grateful to the Pickett family for helping us continue providing our services to families. I want the organization to live on and add more programs, this money will allow us to grow.”
In addition to the scholarship, the CD Panthers program has named their small business pop-up ‘Coach D’Vonne Pickett Jr.’s Pop Up’ to honor their coach. Organizers say that clothing, local businesses, community outreach, and desserts/ice cream are all encouraged to participate.
“We always try to help kids out, so for someone to help us out we’re super excited about it,” stated CD Panther Mom Nikita Love. “Finally, for us to be recognized for being a community organization that really prides itself on family, it’s big, it’s huge.”
