By Andrew Callahan
Copyright bostonherald
Two weeks ago, Caedan Wallace settled into his locker and dropped his helmet.
The Patriots’ final practice of the week had just ended. A trip to Miami awaited the next day, and with it, a chance to redeem their season-opening loss to Las Vegas.
For Wallace, a 25-year-old offensive lineman, it was time to undress, shower, head home, pack and get ready to fly.
But for now, that could all wait.
A video message from his father had popped up on his phone. Wallace hit play.
In the video, a slight woman dressed in all black stood inside a tidy living room surrounded by strangers. She sobbed. Fighting through her tears, she thanked the strangers. Then, a burly man wearing a blue Patriots hat and white t-shirt approached her, extending a set of keys. She took them and sobbed some more.
Wallace smiled.
He would have been there had it not been for practice. Maybe he would’ve handed her the keys on what was a proud day for his foundation, Caedan Cares, and its partnership with Heading Home, a local nonprofit providing housing for children and adults currently or formerly experiencing homelessness.
The burly man in the video was his father, Dr. Charles Wallace II. By sending the video, Dr. Wallace might as well have texted “mission accomplished.” That Friday, Sept. 12, Caedan Cares was among several organizations that sent volunteers to help the woman and her two young children move into a fully furnished apartment after a year of living in shelter.
“It’s been ingrained in me since I was a kid: helping people,” Caedan said this week inside the Patriots’ locker room. “So being in the position to help is always awesome. It’s really, always awesome.”
The mother, whose name will remain anonymous for reasons of privacy and confidentiality, was a client of Heading Homes’ “Up & Out Move” program. She recently took a teaching position after graduating with an associate’s degree in early childhood education last June. Her daughter, 7, and her son, 3, will now enjoy a life replete with all of life’s basic necessities in the safety and comfort of their own Cambridge home.
“There was not a dry eye in the entire apartment,” Dr. Wallace said. “Just to see the joy on their faces, the mother crying and a complete kitchen set up, from table to flatware, silverware. Everything was there in place, ready for them to spend their first night with the items and things that they needed. I can’t say enough how fulfilling and gratifying that was.”
Through collaborations like their partnership with Heading Home, the Wallaces have continued generations of giving in their family; from rural South Carolina to New Jersey and now New England. They originally connected with Heading Home over the summer through a third party, 98.5 The Sports Hub; the Patriots’ flagship radio station which has a long-standing relationship with the nonprofit.
Wallace and his father started Caedan Cares with a multi-faceted goal that includes addressing homelessness. Their mission statement today reads, “empower and uplift young people and their families worldwide, focusing on those in greatest need, by providing the resources, support, and opportunities necessary to lead fulfilling and impactful lives.”
Dr. Wallace previously worked as a director at HomeFront, a nonprofit agency in his home state of New Jersey. His experience there made for a natural connection with Heading Home, which served more than 8,100 people in eastern Massachusetts last year, its 50th as an agency.
“(Heading Home)’s mission aligned with what we do helping families and making sure people that, though they may be in poverty, have a sense of dignity in all that they do and say,” Dr. Wallace said. “So we decided we really wanted to be a part of this.”
The Wallaces first got word of the single mother’s case a few weeks prior, and jumped at the chance to assist. Once Caedan realized his practice commitment would prevent him from attending, he called his dad, who agreed to drive more than four hours from his New Jersey home to help with the move.
“We like to get our hands on anything we can in the area, and really, around the country, around the world,” Caedan said. “My dad used to be a pastor, so helping others has always been really, really big for my family.”
Dr. Wallace traces his altruism back to his late mother, Joyce, who passed last May in her hometown of Gray Court, South Carolina. At last census, only 769 people lived in Gray Court, which means strangers are few and far between. Joyce was known for, among other things, her giving nature and sprawling gardens.
Behind her house, she grew all kinds of fruits and vegetables that neighbors were free to pick on their own. Caedan remembers zucchini, watermelon and corn.
“People would come by and get things out of the garden all the time,” Dr. Wallace said. “That was just her life. Helping other people gave her joy, and she knew that was just the right thing to do.”
Across from the house, another garden bloomed. This one had flowers. Even more flowers lined her driveway.
This week, Caedan smiled thinking back on his grandmother, then again as his mind drifted to the single mother and two children her legacy now touches. He said he plans to stay in contact with the family. Anything they need.
“Holidays (are) coming up,” he said. “(I’m) excited.”
That attitude, of course, is music to the ears of his new partners at Heading Home.
“Folks get to hear from people that get to know us and get to know the families we’re working with, what we do, and how it works. So it’s nice for someone, obviously a Patriots player, who’s not in the agency but goes out and speaks and is like, ‘Hey, I’m working with these guys, and here’s what I see,’” said Danielle Ferrier, CEO at Heading Home.
“And so for us, that’s the value of these partnerships: helping people understand the work we’re doing. And you know, housing is it’s a basic need, right? Everybody has it. So, i’s a great partnership. We’re thrilled to get to know them, and continue the partnership now a few months in.
As Caedan finished practice two weeks ago, Dr. Wallace and his fellow volunteers began to say goodbyes inside the home they helped build. They turned toward the door leaving all the fresh furnishings, from lamps to a couch, TV, beds, stickers on the children’s bedroom walls, books, toys, all of it, all behind.
As the door closed and the lock clicked into place, a small plant rested on the living room table. Synthetic, by the look of it.
The Wallaces want to donate more.
Real, beautiful, blooming flowers.
Quote of the Week
“This is a hard business. This is tough. There’s a lot of dynamics that go to this. I mean, you guys have been spoiled. You guys had Tom Brady and Bill Belichick for 20 years. Let me just tell you, that’s fantasy land. We can call it what it is. And when you do this, you’ve got to have people that you trust implicitly, that are loyal, and he’s been that. When you get into a s— storm, like you do during the season, and things, teams and rosters – he has an ability again to reach everybody. He always kept me in perspective. Very few people – was always willing to share his thoughts with me if I needed a guardrail. So, again, going through this thing for the first time and having guys like him with me, I’m very conscious of their ability to help me do my job and to help the team.” — Patriots coach Mike Vrabel on his relationship with defensive coordinator Terrell Williams, who is facing a recently revealed prostate cancer diagnosis
