Yenn Gaines, a husband, father and grandfather spent over 40 days in ICU resulting from the injuries he incurred from being shot at an event. Proceeds from the Girls Winter Basketball Clinic which will be held at Lafayette High School, on Saturday, December 14th, will support their family.
Angela Lewis, former professional basketball player and Saint Louis University standout became friends with Yenn’s wife, LaRoyce, when they participated in the highly selective FOCUS St. Louis Coro Women in Leadership program in 2014.
“LaRoyce always talked about her family. She especially talked about Yenn and what a great man he is. When I heard about what happened, I knew we could use this clinic to be bigger than basketball.”
LaRoyce and Yenn have known each other since middle school, but didn’t reconnect until over a decade later. LaRoyce explains, “Yenn is special because he is so selfless. He consistently puts others before himself. On one of our first dates his grandmother called and needed something from the store and that was the end of our date, but it made me fall in love with him.”
Yenn has worked as a Millwright and in the construction industry for nearly 20 years. Locally, Yenn has worked on several bridges such as the Salisbury, Granite City, Wentzville and the highway 94 bridge to St. Charles. In addition, he has helped build houses in the Winghaven sub-division and worked on the median in Chesterfield.
He traveled the country making sure the turbines in power plants and nuclear power plants were functioning properly, which is a catalyst for the electricity used by consumers daily. Although he was on the road regularly for work, his priorities remained clear.
“Family is everything to me because I grew up with my grandmother. My father was killed at a young age and I never got to meet him. I wanted to make sure that I would always be there for my kids, family and grandkids.”
As the St. Louis region heals from this event and others, Lewis hopes to cultivate a mindset of giving for the 3rd – 8th grade girls who will attend the clinic.
“Everyone can use their gifts and talents to make life better for others in our community. Basketball just happens to be my gift to give.”
Lewis extends her passion for transforming the lives of young people through sports off the court. She has authored multiple books, The Game Changing Assist: Six Simple Ways to Choose Success, Post Moves: The Female Athlete’s Guide to Dominate Life After College and The Fundamental Game Plan: Every Basketball Players Academic and Athletic 12 Week Success Tracker.
The Girls Winter Basketball Clinic will be held on Saturday, December 14th from 9am – 11am at Lafayette High School(Wildwood MO) for 3rd-8th graders and the cost is $30.
To find out more information about the clinic visit angelarlewis.com or call 314-598-7870.
You can also support the Gaines family directly through their GoFundMe page https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-yenn .