Fred Lee Receives Humanitarian Award
12/20/2013 12:00:00β―AM | Football
Humanitarian Awards Dinner Feature
BOISE, ID - University at Buffalo football senior Fred Lee was a recipient of the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Idaho Sports Medicine Institute Humanitarian Award at the Humanitarian Awards Dinner Thursday in Boise, Idaho.
"This award is a real honor," stated Lee. "It is always nice to be recognized for the things I do outside football because that is what I really pride myself in, getting out in the community and inspiring other people to be great in life."
The award goes to a player who has given the most to himself in service for others and can include work with youth, hospitals, the elderly, leadership programs and family, and any other activities which help others.
"This is a much greater honor than scoring a touchdown and having a whole stadium cheering for you," said Lee. "Knowing that my teammates really respect me to that level is amazing. I mentor a lot of those guys, I just try to be that belief in them when they don't believe in themselves."
The Chester, SC native spent the spring semester mentoring at-risk students at a local middle school, Starpoint, twice a week. He has impacted youth of all ages, whether it was volunteering at day care centers, speaking at local schools, or reading to kids. Also in the community, Fred has spent time at the veteran's hospital volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House, the Red Cross and with the Big Brother/Big Sister program. On campus, he has taken part in the Women's Football 101 day, UB Kid's Day activities, Tim Horton's Camp Day, and the UB Early Childhood Research Center.
Earlier this season, Lee became the first Bull in program history to earn a spot on the Allstate AFCA Good Works team. The Allstate AFCA Good Works Team has honored college football players at all levels of the sport for their selfless acts of giving back to the community and off-the-field achievements. He will travel to New Orleans and be honored at halftime of the Allstate Sugar Bowl on January 2, 2014.
Lee ranked second on the Bulls in all receiving categories, finishing the regular season with career-highs in catches (54), yards (644) and touchdowns (four).
Buffalo (8-4, 6-2 Mid-American Conference) and San Diego State (7-5, 6-2 Mountain West) will meet Saturday in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl at 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
