Davis Raises $11,300 for BBBS Charity
Florida FLW Tour pro is doing his part to give back to Big Brothers Big Sisters
Professional bass anglers have a larger platform than ever before, thanks in large part to exposure from tournament coverage and social media, and that often equates to a greater ability to positively impact the lives of others. FLW Tour pro Darrell Davis understands this as well as anyone.
The fifth-year FLW Tour pro from Dover, Fla., has been using his platform to raise money and donate his time to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters and all the children the organization helps throughout the country. On Sept. 22, at the Art of Helping Children Gala in Tampa Bay, Davis helped raise $11,300 for Big Brothers Big Sisters by auctioning off fishing gear (donated by his sponsors) and time on the water with Davis himself.
“Last year, I got on board with them and donated a little bit of my time,” Davis says. “I took a guy fishing. This year, I opted to do that again and told them anything I could do to help, other than just taking somebody fishing, let me know.
“I guess word got out from last year’s trip so we had quite a few people bidding on it this year, and it was just crazy. It went for more than some of the NFL players’ stuff they had donated.”
The package Davis donated went for $5,800 in the live auction, and it quickly became apparent how important Davis’ platform as a professional angler can be when another bidder (who held at $5,500 on the auction package) offered to donate his bid outright for his own day on the water with Davis.
“After it was over, the auctioneer came over and said, ‘Hey, the other guy that was bidding really does want to go fishing with you, and he said he would give us the $5,500 he was holding at if you’ll take him,’” Davis says. “I was like, dude, that’s a no-brainer there. Anything to help these kids. It’s only two days on the water for me, so that’s amazing.”
Part of the auction package also included a two-night stay at Guy Harvey Camp Mack Lodge, Marina & Resort in Lake Wales on Lake Kissimmee. When Davis agreed to the second offer as well, he called Camp Mack and they agreed to extend another two-night stay to the second donor.
In addition to the Camp Mack stay, Davis also auctioned off a “bucket of gear” consisting of life vests, shirts, visors, reels, lures and other tackle, all donated by Trojan Battery, Power-Pole, Ardent Reels, River2Sea, Phoenix Bass Boats, G2 Gemini, Bob’s Machine Shop and Onyx Outdoor.
With the $11,300 raised, Davis says eight children will be taken off the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay waiting list and placed with Big Brothers and Big Sisters.
“It costs about $1,500 apiece for each kid to be paired up,” Davis says. “They meet with people, and they match them according to their personalities and what they like to do and what the kid likes to do and where they live. They get them in the same general area so they’re not traveling so far so people can spend more time with them. And it takes a lot of man hours to do that, so about $1,500 to match is what they average.”
Davis’ girlfriend, Tammy Curtis, has been involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters for about eight years and currently serves on the board of directors. She mentors a Little Sister, and being around that prompted Davis to get involved as well.
“Once I saw the difference it makes in some of these kids’ lives, I asked her how I could be a part of it,” he says.
As a professional angler on the FLW Tour, Davis doesn’t feel that he’s the right fit to be a Big Brother at the moment, due to the time commitments fishing the Tour requires, but that’s not stopping him from making a difference, and he urges others to do whatever they can to help as well.
“I think more people need to get out, and even if they can’t be a Big Brother or a Big Sister, donate their time like I did in any way, even if they only want to do a one-day deal like I did,” he says. “It’s going to make a difference in these kids’ lives.”