STILL SERVING

HELPING THE HELPER

STILL SERVING and being served — in love

TAYLOR — Whether it’s teaching local youth to play tennis, advocating for fellow childhood sexual-assault survivors or providing new Adidas Kicks to lowincome kids for the first day of school, Marcus Reese for years has set a high standard for big-hearted giving in Taylor and Williamson County through his nonprofits.

But earlier this year, Reese — the president and founder of the Taylor Area Tennis Association, the Break the Silence Movement and the Best Food Forward Initiative — found himself in need.

“My life changed just back in February,” said Reese, 43, while recalling his fateful visit to the emergency room of Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Round Rock, where testing would eventually reveal cancerous lesions on one of his kidneys and his liver.

“It was so strange,’” Reese recalled. “I went into this place as a youngish tennis coach, somewhat of a community figure, a dad, a husband, and then all of a sudden it was like they were telling me I wasn’t all those things…The only thing that mattered as I walked out was I was someone who had cancer.”

A few months later — after multiple rounds of immunotherapy and chemotherapy —Reese found himself dangerously dehydrated and back in the intensive care unit of that same hospital.

“I was at the absolute lowest,” Reese said. “They said, ‘Hey, your good kidney is also failing … And if it doesn’t get better in two days, you will have to do dialysis.”

Marcus Reese takes a break Aug. 12 at his favorite hangout Ripple & Rose Cafe in downtown Taylor. PHOTO BY NICOLE LESSIN Reese’s numbers returned to normal just in the nick of time, which he credits to the family, friends, supporters and even strangers praying for him.

THE POWER OF PRAYER

“What has really been the heart of this journey for me, beyond my faith, beyond my family, beyond my supporters, is the simple fact that even people who I have just come across on the Internet or who don’t even really know me are helping me,” Reese said. “They are praying for me, they are sending me notes. There’s a lady who sends me a card once a month to let me know I am not forgotten.”

Not to mention the overwhelming show of support from the many who do know and love Reese, in the form of handmade gifts, his favorite comfort foods and more.

He added, “I have had people cook very clean meals for me. They wouldn’t add salt or make it spicy, just like I needed. They would alter the meals, when I hadn’t even asked for the meal.”

He believes a higher power is at work. “I know God is behind it,” Reese said. “I was almost thinking, ‘I wish I had this today, and then someone shows up with exactly what I wanted.’” In fact, during his ICU stay, Reese said the principal from his daughter’s elementary school showed up at 9:15 p.m. with a pint of his favorite Butter Pecan ice cream and a phone charger after she had discovered that his own had stopped working.

“She didn’t have to do anything,” Reese said. “It’s one of those random acts of kindness. I have always known what it is like to be a giver of random acts of kindness, but I have not really known as well what it was to be a receiver. I needed to become better at receiving in general. Now I understand more when people say, ‘Hey, thank you for making an impact.’”

GIVING BACK TO THE GIVER

Since February, former Taylor Councilman Gerald Anderson, the executive director of the Bill Pickett Educational Foundation, and his girlfriend, Carla Hoffmann, have been cutting Reese’s yard every other week without being asked — because they knew he would downplay what he was going through.

“I just understand how important it is having your yard cut,” said Anderson, a longtime friend. “Especially when you’ve got kids that need to get outside and out of the house. The backyard is a release for a lot of people and it is a safe space, so it was just important to me to make his yard nice so he and his family could enjoy some quiet time.”

“Marcus is an integral part of the community,” Anderson added. “He is part of the glue that holds it together with all of the good work that he does.”

Hoffman, who herself survived being dragged under a car while riding her bike two years ago, requiring multiple surgeries, said it has been important to her to continue to support Reese for as long as he needs it.

“Working through the hard times, he is a fighter like I was,” Hoffman said. “I see that in him.”

In fact, this summer, while undergoing treatments, Reese was still able to provide new sneakers for more than 200 disadvantaged kids, primarily from Taylor, but also from Hutto, Manor, Granger, Cedar Park, Austin and as far away as Spring, through his yearly shoe drive called Best Foot Forward.

“As the treatment has become more predictable, I know after so many days, I can come out and I have energy, and I can do things,” Reese said. “That’s when I started to really pray and figure out what it is that I can do. Because I felt worse being at home and being worried about the cancer…I feel better with getting to help people.”

PUTTING HIS

BESTFOOTFORWARD

Reese said he got the idea for the Best Foot Forward shoe-drive project three years ago after hearing a dad in a store tell his child he was unable to afford new footwear right before school began.

Monica Esparza, the area director of marketing for Round Rock Premium Outlets, which has provided Best Foot Forward with $1,000 in gift cards to its Nike and Adidas retail stores for two years in a row, said they are grateful to be a part of what Reese does for area children.

“I’m not surprised that Marcus continues his incredible charitable work even in the midst of cancer treatment, because that’s just who he is,” Esparza said in a written statement. “He is someone who always puts others first and will persevere. The entire team at Round Rock Premium Outlets is keeping Marcus in our thoughts as he navigates this health challenge.”

Erin Lawrence, the principal of Granger Elementary School, said Reese did not hesitate to shop for and provide a last-minute request the Wednesday before school started for 43 kids in her district.

“He actually went above and beyond,” Lawrence said. “He purchased brand new Adidas shoes… It was interesting that the style of shoes matched the kids’ personalities even though he had never met the kids.”

Lawrence said these shoes meant more to these children in need than most people could ever imagine.

“It gives them hope and recognition that someone sees their struggles,” she said. “An act of kindness like that can help them find a way forward and know that their community is there for them.”

Lawrence said this year she hesitated to put in the application for the shoes because she heard about the difficulties Reese faced.

However, through a mutual friend, she got a message that he was gently scolding her for not reaching out, saying, ‘No, reach out. We are doing this.’” As the homeless liaison for the Granger Independent School District, Lawrence said she also admires Reese’s Break the Silence Initiative, which provides victim advocacy to individuals who have experienced sexual abuse.

The program gives survivors a voice to help them navigate difficult circumstances and connects them with support and resources during a dark time in their lives.

“Marcus is a once-in-a-lifetime human,” Lawrence said. “His impact goes beyond the services that his initiatives provide. He brings hope. He restores dignity. And he helps build a strong community where vulnerable children and families can thrive.”

A GoFundMe fundraiser has been set up for Reese and his family.

For more, visit gofund. me/2cbb76bf3.