Daytona's Wilson Foundation helps minority kids. Meet the dedicated man who started it.

DAYTONA BEACH − Rufus Wilson is living proof that you don't have to be rich, powerful or famous to make a difference in this world.

For nearly 16 years, the U.S. Postal Service employee who lives in Port Orange has devoted countless volunteer hours as well as much of his hard-earned pay to help minority students go to college.

Since establishing the Wanda & Janice Wilson Foundation in 2008, Wilson, who is African American, has handed out scholarships to 250 minority students.

On Saturday, Jan. 20, Wilson will present scholarship checks to six more minority students when the nonprofit foundation holds its fourth annual charity gala at the Hard Rock Hotel in Daytona Beach.

"This is my passion," said Wilson.

Event to include presentation of special awards

The Fourth Annual Wilson Foundation Gala will include the presentation of special awards to Ormond Beach entrepreneur/philanthropist L. Gale Lemerand, Seventh Judicial Circuit Court Judge Joan Anthony, CEO/publisher Howard M. Holley of Touchpoint Innovative Solutions Inc., former Wilson Foundation board member Beverly Patrick and her husband Gordon, and Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings and his wife Val, the former congresswoman and former chief of the Orlando Police Department.

Lemerand, chairman and majority owner of Stonewood Holdings, is also set to be honored at a separate event on Jan. 20. He will receive the Civic League of the Halifax Area's Cici & Hyatt Brown Lifetime Achievement Award.

How did the foundation get started?

Wilson and his late wife Janice started the foundation following the death of his mother, Wanda, in 2008.

Wanda Wilson was a 1960 graduate of Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach who went on to become the first African-American teacher in Florida's Highlands County. She was a public school educator in Avon Park and Sebring for nearly 30 years.

After retiring in 2004, she founded Faith Academy Daycare at her church.

Wilson's wife Janice also was a graduate of Bethune-Cookman University who went on to become a career-long educator. She taught in Volusia County Schools for more than 30 years.

Upon his wife's death in 2014 at age 57, Rufus Wilson renamed the foundation to include Janice's name.

Who is Rufus Wilson?

Wilson is an alumnus of Bethune-Cookman where he played on the university's football team. He went on to play football professionally for the NFL's Houston Oilers and USFL's Pittsburgh Maulers. After his short stint as a pro, he moved back to Daytona Beach in the late 1980s where he settled into his current job with the Postal Service.

He credits the mentors he has had in his life with helping him become who he is today. "I'm standing on their shoulders," he said. "That's why I do what I do."

"Without people believing in us and our passion, we can't do this," he added. "I cannot do this without the community."

Past scholarship recipient 'paying it forward'

Antoinette Chapman, 26, is a former student of the late Janice Wilson. "She was my high school English teacher at Mainland," she recalled.

Chapman said the $2,000 scholarship she received from the Wilson Foundation in 2015 helped her to go on to attend Bethune-Cookman where she earned a bachelor's degree in health and exercise science.

Chapman now works as a personal trainer at the DME Sports Academy in Daytona Beach. "I'm going back to school for my master's degree (at the University of Central Florida) hopefully this spring."

Chapman has been a volunteer at the Wilson Foundation galas and plans to do so again at this year's event. "I am paying it forward," she said. "Being a Wilson scholar has inspired me to continue my education to further my career."

She also praised Wilson for being "100% involved in every way" with the students the foundation helps. "He checks in regularly with me and other Wilson scholars. He sends up prayers and checks in with us to make sure we are doing OK in everyday life."

High praise from other philanthropists

Dr. Michelle V. Carter is executive director of the Embassy of Hope Foundation, a charitable nonprofit she founded in Daytona Beach with her son, Vince Carter, the now-retired NBA superstar who is now a television sports analyst. Vince Carter is also a former English student of the late Janice Wilson at Mainland.

Michelle Carter has been a supporter of the Wilson Foundation over the years, having purchased tables at the annual galas. She also helped coach Rufus Wilson on how to put on gala events.

"I believe that we should all be willing to help young people get as much training as they can," she said. "Through his foundation, Rufus is assisting students throughout Florida continue their education by awarding scholarships to those that qualify. I applaud and support the work of the Wanda & Janice Wilson Foundation."

Nancy Lohman and her husband Lowell are Ormond Beach philanthropists who received a special recognition award from the Wilson Foundation at its annual gala in 2022.

"I've always been so impressed and inspired by Rufus' dedication and perseverance," said Lohman. "Lowell and I were grateful to be honored (by the Wilson Foundation), but even more grateful for the work that Rufus does to ensure that minority students have an opportunity to receive a higher education. He makes a difference one student at a time."

Lohman is the incoming 2024 chair of the Civic League of the Halifax Area.

A few seats still available

The Fourth Annual Wilson Foundation Gala begins at 5 p.m. with the award dinner at 6 p.m. The Hard Rock Hotel is at 918 N. Atlantic Ave. The event will include music by saxophonist Jerone Smith.

All tables for the gala are sold out, but a few individual seats are still available, said Wilson. For more information, call 386-679-1446 or visit the foundation's website: thewandajanicefoundation.com

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Daytona's Wilson Foundation aids minority kids; meet the man behind it