Vincent Smith Receives Big Ten's Dungy-Thompson Humanitarian Award
12/17/2020 1:45:00 PM | Football
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- The Big Ten Conference announced Thursday (Dec. 17) that former University of Michigan tailback Vincent Smith is the recipient of the prestigious Dungy-Thompson Humanitarian Award for the 2020 season. Smith received the award for his Team Garden Project and #Eating Gardens initiative, which were designed to make sustainable positive changes in communities.
Smith is the founder of Team Gardens Project, an initiative determined to increase access to healthy foods and reduce juvenile crimes and violent behaviors through gardening-based intervention. The Team Gardens Project, which emphasizes teamwork, has designed a program focused on mentoring youth by cleaning up neighborhoods and building gardens.
Smith chose gardening because everyone needs to eat to grow. Team Gardens started work in 2013, planting gardens in Smith's hometown of Pahokee, Fla. He has since branched to Flint, Mich., and to areas around Detroit and Ann Arbor. The program works with community partners to clean up the earth with rain gardens, promote healthy eating with vegetable gardens and encourage individuals to get out in the community and be active.
Smith's movement in Flint, #Eating Gardens, transforms empty lots into vegetable gardens and micro-farms. He works with the neighborhood children and gets them excited about gardening. Smith has these young people clean up the area, remove trash and plant gardens, teaching them the valuable traits of patience and follow-through.
Smith earned his bachelor's degree in Afro-American and African studies from U-M in 2012. He was active in the community during his time in Ann Arbor, participating in the weekly visits to C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and visiting schools in the Washtenaw County School system as a guest reader.
A four-year letterman (2009-12), Smith played in 45 career games and started 14 contests at tailback. Smith carried the ball 272 times for 1,269 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also made 46 receptions for 435 yards and seven TDs, with his 435 receiving yards ranking eighth all-time among Michigan running backs. Smith became the first player in the modern history of Michigan football to score a touchdown running, passing and receiving in a same game, accomplishing the feat against Minnesota (Oct. 1, 2011).
The Dungy-Thompson Award, named for Minnesota's Tony Dungy and Indiana's Anthony Thompson in 2011, recognizes Big Ten football students who have achieved success in the area of humanitarianism following their academic and athletic careers at a Big Ten university.
Smith is the second Wolverine to win the award. Former U-M quarterback Brian Griese received the honor in 2014.
