Jay Urich’s face lit up when the question was asked.

“It means everything to me, to see the dreams come to fruition, our first camp be here and to be able to see the kids,” Urich said. “To see the kids, to see their smiles today, it makes my heart really, really happy.”

Urich answered it under a brightly sunny day at Heathwood Hall, campers running around him as he and his company—Original Design, giving opportunities to underprivileged in the community.

Urich founded Original Design close to a year ago and his first iteration came to fruition last week with 25 hand-picked campers. The goal is to foster long-term success for local children with the same 25 campers attending all three currently scheduled camps.

“All 25 of these kids are gonna be at all three camps with the same mentor so we’re creating long-term relationships for sustainable change, for them to really know that somebody’s there for them, somebody that loves them, somebody that cares for them,” Urich said. “I think that’s the cool thing, this is really just the beginning.”

The camp is built on faith and football—two stalwarts of Urich's background—but will delve into things like nutrition and other integral skills children need as they grow up.

The main goal is to provide a resource for children in the state of South Carolina, specifically Columbia right now, with one big thing: show the campers how loved they are.

“If they walk away from Original Design and they say, ‘This environment is the most loving environment that I’ve ever been in.’ I think that will be an amazing compliment. It’s all about love and it’s all about having fun,” Urich said.

“To be able to give them the opportunity to take away their worries, whether it be school or different things like that, to give them a weekend where they can let loose, have fun, they can learn about public health, they can learn about our faith in Jesus, and learn to have fun with different sports.”

Urich's camp was well-attended and supported by the Gamecock football program with current players like Jaylin Dickerson, Chad Terrell, Jabari Ellis, and Marshawn Lloyd all making their way to Heathwood Hall to volunteer and support Urich.

“It means so much; it’s their month off so it means so much that they could be at the beach, doing so many other things but they chose to be here and to support Original Design and it means so much,” Urich said.

A lot of these players have spent time over the last three years with Urich, seeing the type of person he is and wanting to help Original Design build traction in the community.

Lloyd—who grew up in a single-parent household—never had opportunities like this growing up in the Northeast, but can't understate the value of what Urich's doing.

“Not really, but I wish I would have,” Lloyd said. “There’s not too many people like Jay.”