LIFESTYLE
Photos provided by the DJ Rowell Foundation
Enhancing the Quality of Life for Local Children Gratefully, the holidays help to bring local nonprofit organizations to light. There’s a certain spirit in the air that encourages us to not only focus on giving to the ones we love but also to those that are less fortunate or are facing uncertainties. While focusing on fulfilling his own career dreams, local celebrity DJ Rowell has discovered how to also serve the community that helped shape him into the man he has become.
physical activity, specifically basketball. The Rockem Experience Camp is held in Marion annually and fully sponsors nearly 170 children to attend the week-long basketball camp. During the start of Covid-19, the camp was put on hold and DJ found himself looking for other avenues to still fulfill the need of area children.
David L. Rowell is a Marion, South Carolina, native. He graduated from Marion High School in 2011 where he played varsity basketball for four years before obtaining an athletic scholarship to Ohio Valley University. After college, DJ was fortunate enough to intern with the Ryan Seacrest Foundation and later turned his interests to entertainment. Since then, DJ has successfully started a podcast and landed a lead role in the December 2020 debate of "Christmas in Carolina." DJ has also appeared in two more feature films, “Gaslight” and “Merry Little Switchmas.”
While on tour, DJ met a child who had been diagnosed with cancer. “He was such an incredible kid, with a spirit that could light up the entirety of New York Square,” said DJ. “I thought about how children like him, who are warriors, who fight every day for the chance of normalcy and of just being a kid, where the only expectation of a day should be to have fun. They need to know that people care. They need to know that they matter because their battles, in turn, will illuminate in understanding the smaller significant things in life that truly matter – each other.” That’s when DJ and his team decided to bring Christmas cheer to children that were hospitalized during the holidays.
As DJ's career goals were finding success, he was ready to focus some of his efforts on the betterment of children growing up in his hometown of Marion. He formed The DJ Rowell Foundation to enhance the quality of life in children through experiences and
This new opportunity to give came packaged in a backpack and began last Christmas. DJ and his team pack items such as stuffed animals, tablets, coloring books, crayons, tissues, hand wipes, lotion, toothbrushes, toys, books, pencils, board games,
44
VIPMagSC.com
December 2021
