This former football star turned pastor credits Sun Youth for his success. Now, he's paying it forward

Before Andrew Henry held distinguished titles such as professional Canadian football player and beloved Pointe-Claire church pastor, his life was headed in a different direction. 

A new Canadian immigrant at the age of 14 and son to a single mother, the Jamaican-born teen lived in a rough Montreal neighbourhood and hung around with a tough crowd. 

"We're in [Place Benoit in the Saint-Laurent area], boys are getting in trouble. Unfortunately some got murdered, unfortunately some went to prison," he said. "What do you do when you're in a situation like this? How do you function, where do you turn?"

Enter Sun Youth, a Montreal community service agency offering programs to help keep young people active, part of the community and out of trouble. 

The organization took Henry in as one of its own after seeing the talent he displayed playing football on the St. Laurent Spartans team for a few seasons, a team he joined on a whim after being asked by a friend. 

"Here I am, a stranger coming from the crosstown rival [of the Sun Youth Hornets] and from day one, I was embraced," he said. 

Henry trained and worked out at Sun Youth's facilities, including their gym, a resource he'd never had access to. He was even able to access summer jobs through the organization. 

After honing his skills, offers began rolling in. 

Henry went on to play football at Murray State University in Kentucky on a full scholarship. After graduating, he was drafted fourth overall by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and played in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for eight years before calling it quits.

"My whole career started [at Sun Youth] as if they knew from the beginning," said the former CFL athlete, smiling. "Sun Youth gave me another pathway; it showed me another pathway," he said.

Fast forward more than three decades, and Henry is giving back by teaming up with the same organization that helped him get to where he is today. 

As administrator for the Lester B. Pearson School Board in the continuing education department, Henry created an initiative in partnership with Sun Youth and the Ministry of Education to get children off the streets and into physical activity.

The goal is to lower the dropout rate in schools and increase the number of graduates by redirecting youths to non-traditional educational pathways and supporting them through different opportunities toward success.

Alicia Wright, who's known Henry for some 20 years, says this isn't the first initiative he's spearheaded to see youths succeed. Fresh out of the CFL, Henry worked at Riverside Park Academy in LaSalle, where he coached Wright's touch-football team.