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“All of us are coming together to work with these kids who are coming from high-risk areas, they’re high-priority kids who need this kind of interaction,” said Burris. “It’s all about planting that seed of confidence to help them grow.”

Burris and wife Nicole have two boys — Armand and Barron — and he knows how important it is for kids to have good influences.

“There’s a rising gang problem,” said Burris. “Gangs are old school to me. I know exactly who they target. They go after people who don’t have confidence, who don’t think they’re part of anything and want to feel like they’re somebody. That’s what Big Brothers and Big Sisters offers, that’s where it can help. There are young men and young women who need that confidence.

“We have new refugees who need a sense of belonging as well. Kids want to feel like they’re part of something. We had the same charity in Oklahoma. I had both of my parents, a lot of kids didn’t have that. To see the way this charity affected their lives, it gave them a directive to focus on something different.

“I was part of an in-school program, it gave me an alternative to going out and getting myself into trouble. It kept me busy until my parents were done with work. It gave me something else to do, something else to focus on and it’s the reason I’m here today — playing football.”

It was tough for Burris to step away from the All-Star Weekend in Calgary. It made a huge difference, raising $250,000 in 2015.

“It was perfect timing, we committed to it for 10 years,” he said. “If we still lived there, we would still be hosting the event. We thought we’d like to continue the event. We’re in a new market, a place where we can build something here and have an impact.”