BRANDON, Fla. — Six years after a Tampa Bay teenager was tragically killed, his family spent Saturday giving back to the community in his memory. 

Andrew Joseph III was killed while crossing l-4 after being kicked out of the state fair by law enforcement. He was only 14 years old and an aspiring football player.

The family decided to channel their grief into activism.

“This is another small step,” his father, Andrew Joseph, said. “We’re building his legacy, one brick at a time.”

The legacy included forming the Andrew Joseph Foundation, which the family uses to advocate for safer communities while launching charitable giving initiatives. 

Volunteers set up shop Saturday at the Riverview Raiders Field in Brandon, where they donated personal protective equipment, book bags, beverages, and healthy food for the community.

The family chose the site as the location for their latest giveaway. It is the field where Andrew Joseph III used to play football after the family relocated to the area 15 years ago from their native New Orleans to escape Hurricane Katrina.

"The kids that he played with are grown now,” Joseph’s father, Andrew Joseph, said. “Some of them are in the league. Others are in college. And we’re stuck with a lot of what ifs.”

Giving back to the community is designed to help with the healing.

“We spent so much time here at this field,” Joseph’s mother, Deanna, said. “We spent so much resources among the Tampa Bay community with the youth league and the cheerleading team.“