Nashville SC teams up with My Brother's Keeper for Black History Month

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Lonnell Matthews isn't a soccer player, but he feels like he just scored a goal.

"We're growing, we're gaining resources, we're getting investments from other community partners and we're really creating a better environment for our black and brown boys to achieve in Nashville," he said.

Matthews is the co-chair of My Brother's Keeper Nashville. The national program was started in 2014 by President Obama to help address the gaps young men of color face in life.

"It's all about building relationships. It's all about building community and that's what we really want to do," Matthews said.

And now a Nashville SC limited edition patch will help reinforce that goal.

Head of community engagement for Nashville SC, Brandon Hill, said this is collaboration they are proud to be a part of.

"They do an amazing job mentoring young men, providing educational opportunities, leadership opportunities, and that's exactly the way we want to leverage our club to make a difference," Hill said.

The Black History Month patch is available for sale now. 100 percent of the proceeds will benefit My Brother's Keeper.

Matthews said it's all about offering the same help he once received.

"Any door that we can open any light that we can shine on something that they may have experienced before or may have not known about and we see that light bulb go off and we know that that's an opportunity and a door that they can walk through," he said.

He knows first-hand team work makes the dream work.

"I had a lot of great mentors, teachers, coaches and people that really focused on my literacy skills and made sure that I was going to be successful. And as a native Nashvillian, I wanted to be able to pour that back into my city," Matthews said.