OUR STORY

While the VISION Foundation was not officially established until 2017, its creation was 19 years in the making. From birth, the future founders of the VISION Foundation, Allen Lee and Justin Edwards were raised as close as brothers in the small town of Lafayette, Louisiana. During their early childhood, the two attended the same preschool, elementary school, church, and even played on the same basketball team.
However, the true foundation of their friendship and future partnership was cultivated through the Scouting Program. From the age of 6, with their fathers as their Scout Masters, Justin and Allen progressed through the Cub Scouts of America, learning from a young age the importance of leadership and service. At the age of 11, the two advanced to the Boy Scouts of America. In 2012, after countless camping trips, hours of service events, over 50 merit badge trainings, and completing major service projects that they individually planned, coordinated, and conducted in their community, both Allen and Justin earned the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest achievement attainable in the Scouting Program.
With Allen at Northside High School and Justin at Lafayette High School, both excelled academically and were active leaders on their campuses. Excited to see all that the world had to offer, both young men accepted scholarships to HBCUs after graduating in 2015, with Justin attending Howard University and Allen attending Clark Atlanta University.
During the Spring of his Freshman year at Howard University, while attending a Scholars Development Workshop, Justin was inspired to actively work towards creating the change he wanted to see in the world. After staying up all night to draft an entire proposal for what became the groundwork of the VISION Foundation, Justin contacted Allen and the two commenced putting together their first program, entitled Vision.
Vision was an empowerment program aimed towards college-bound high school students and incoming college freshmen who desired the tools to maximize their effectiveness to have a greater impact on their futures and their communities. The goal of Vision was to help these students create a “vision” for their futures and identify the steps to manifest that “vision.” With over 50 students in attendance, Vision was conducted as a series of workshops over two days at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
After the success of this program and driven by the desire to continue serving their community, the two young men launched the VISION Foundation to empower minorities and underserved communities in their hometown. The Foundation is now focused on providing scholarships, mentorship and service opportunities to tomorrow’s visionaries, future leaders and high achievers.