GREENWOOD, Ark. — Greenwood football player Isaiah Arrington, his mother Wendy Medrano, and his sister Vivian died away in a house fire on Oct. 30. Immediately after the tragedy, the city of Greenwood and neighboring communities honored the family by gathering for a vigil, playing a game in their memory, and more.
Now, the Greenwood School District announced they will carry on Isaiah's legacy with a memorial scholarship fund.
They did this to honor Isaiah who was more than just a member of the Greenwood football team. He was a member of the Greenwood family.
"He's a special young man," Greenwood head coach Chris Young said. "He gets a smile on my face when I hear his name because there are just so many great memories of him. Not only was he an outstanding football player, you know, he started at wide receiver in the corner for us and was on all of our kicking games, but he's just that kid that you wanted to be around. He had that energy about him in the locker room and the film room, and he just made it enjoyable to be at practice and big games."
Isaiah's dream was to play college football.
"[He] had a dream to play college football," Young said. "He was always told he was too small or he didn't weigh enough, and, and he was able to overcome those things and got offered a scholarship."
Unfortunately, Isaiah won't get to live out that dream. Because of his legacy, someone on his team will be able to in his honor with the Isaiah Arrington Memorial Scholarship Fund.
"He made it through hard work and perseverance, but we wanted to honor him by setting up a scholarship fund for Greenwood athletes," Young said. "Maybe [someone] who didn't have that same opportunity, who loved football and worked really hard, but maybe were told they were too small or too slow or not strong enough, and just give them the opportunity to live their dream out."
From the moment this scholarship was announced, the Greenwood community and beyond have come together to get it rolling.
"Our community and the surrounding communities have just been so great to us and just kind of wrapped our arms around our football team and our players," Young said. "We've had area pastors and from all the area churches, FCA, and Fort Smith has been huge. Just everybody reaching out to provide support for these young men and the coaches too during these difficult times."
Young said this fund will keep Isaiah's memory in the hearts of the Greenwood community for years to come.
"We've opened a fund at Farmers Bank through the school district, and we're going to use that money to carry on his legacy," Young said. "There's nobody in Greenwood right now that'll ever forget Isaiah Arrington, but we believe the scholarship will help us share his story with generations to come."
If you'd like to donate, you can go to Farmers Bank or send the money directly to the Greenwood School District with the memo "Isaiah Arrington Scholarship Fund."
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