LANSING — Trey Fort’s father didn’t realize his son had developed a desire to help those less fortunate until a few years ago, when Trey began to mention ideas he had — ideas like providing food for those in need, as he did Thursday evening in Lansing.
Trey had spent his childhood helping his dad and family help others — serving meals at homeless shelters, contributing to clothing and toy drives, feeding Hurricane Katrina victims who’d made their way up to Jackson, Mississippi, their hometown.
“I didn’t know he was paying attention,” Trey’s father, Jerry, said Thursday. “At some point I asked him, ‘Where did you get (these ideas) from?’ (He said,) ‘That’s all we did. You raised me. I want to continue it.’ ”
That yearning to give was on display Thursday evening, as the Michigan State basketball senior guard gave away grocery-sized bags of food to anyone who came by Eastside Community Action Center at Fellowship Baptist Church in Lansing. On Wednesday evening, he and his dad dropped off toys at the Boys & Girls Club of Lansing — bikes, scooters, skateboards, dolls, learning activities for smaller kids and more.
Trey’s been part of the Lansing community for about six months, since transferring to MSU. But this is something he felt compelled to do with the money he earns through NIL and revenue sharing.
“I know everywhere there’s someone who needs it, there’s a kid who needs somebody, there’s a kid who needs something to do,” Trey said. “You can help people everywhere.”
He did something similar last year in Alabama while playing for Samford — providing food at Thanksgiving and toys to the local Boys & Girls Club before Christmas. This year, with MSU basketball’s travel schedule, he had less time, but no smaller heart. His dad came up this week to help him organize everything. Lansing Mayor Andy Schor helped to facilitate. A number of Trey’s MSU teammates showed up at Fellowship Baptist Church to support his endeavor.
“I’m very blessed and I love being able to be in a place to where I can do things with people and continue to see the smile on their face,” Trey said. “The world is all types of crazy, each and every day. Nobody knows what anybody is going through.”
Trey said he has a vision for ways he’d like to contribute to his hometown in the years to come, something big. This week, Lansing benefited from his generosity.
“That’s pretty cool,” MSU coach Tom Izzo said Thursday. “I think with all the crazy things there are in athletics, sometimes there are some really good things. That’s a really good thing.”
RELATED: Couch: Trey Fort’s winding trek to MSU’s basketball program was filled with purpose
Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on X @Graham_Couch and BlueSky @GrahamCouch.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: MSU’s Trey Fort donates food, toys to those less fortunate in Lansing. ‘Everywhere there’s someone who needs it.’
Reporting by Graham Couch, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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