Ruben Hyppolite II, Beau Brade and Dante Trader Jr. helped organize a backpack drive this past summer.
By Nyla Cherry
After raising more than $10,000 using their digital media company One Speed Entertainment, which includes their well-known podcast, “One Speed,” Maryland football’s Beau Brade, Ruben Hyppolite II and Dante Trader Jr. supplied more than 200 fully-loaded backpacks for J.C. Nalle Elementary School in Washington, D.C.
This is part of the trio’s continuing effort to use their platforms for something greater than football. And that’s the reason they created their company in the first place — to produce more than just podcasts.
Hyppolite, who had his own podcast at the time, joined Brade and Trader — whom he referred to as his “brothers” — and said, “If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together.”
All three said they did not have anybody like themselves to look up to off the field growing up, which fueled their internal drive to give back. Trader and Brade reached out to Kevin Glover, Maryland football’s director of player development, who paired them with the National Center for Children and Families (NCCF).
Brade, Hyppolite and Trader did not want to compete against other programs, said Glover. They decided to work with J.C. Nalle Elementary School, which Glover has worked with over the last five years.
The players orchestrated the backpack drive with Dahlia Levin, a Maryland alumna, and the director of development and external relations at NCCF over the course of the summer. It took about six weeks to plan the endeavor.
“It was so impressive to see their communication,” Glover said.
The three stars announced a fundraiser on their social media pages and podcast episodes, setting a goal to raise $10,000 for a partnered backpack drive with NCCF.
They surpassed their goal and were able to successfully organize the drive on Aug. 26. The players arrived in their jerseys after a fall practice, with Glover in attendance as well. They handed out backpacks, pizza and Maryland gear to the cheerful students.
“The smiles on the kids’ faces made my day,” Brade said.
Trader described the experience as “awesome,” saying, “the kids just lit up.”
Brade, Hyppolite, and Trader all reflected on the gratitude expressed by the students, their families as well as the teachers. Brade said their reactions helped him to forget about how tired he was after practice.
Hyppolite said to expect a lot from One Speed moving forward. Trader added the trio intends to have more backpack drives with NCCF in the future.
“Giving to the community will never stop,” Brade added.