Son of a Saint

Sonny

As President/Executive Director of Son of a Saint, Bivian “Sonny” Lee III has dedicated his life to enhancing the lives of fatherless boys. Since establishing the organization in early 2011, Sonny has grown Son of a Saint to reach 200 boys with an operating budget of more than $3 million. Prior to founding the organization, Sonny served as chief aide to Tom Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans. He was previously was Director of Operations for the New Orleans Zephyrs AAA baseball team and Director of the New Orleans Jazz Institute.

Sonny graduated with honors from St. Augustine High School and later earned a degree in marketing and management from the University of New Orleans. He is currently pursuing his Executive Master of Nonprofit Administration at Notre Dame. A TEDx speaker on community service, decision-making and the importance of education, Sonny’s nonprofit work has been highlighted on CNN, Al Jazeera America, NPR and local television stations and newspapers. His work on behalf of the community and the Son of a Saint organization has garnered numerous awards, including:

• 2019 "A-List" Honoree, Adore Magazine
• 2018 Homer Hits Alumnus of the Year, University of New Orleans
• 2017 Southerners of the Year, Southern Living
• 2017 Role Model Award, Young Leadership Council (YLC)
• 2017 Children's Hero Award, Children's Bureau of New Orleans
• 2016 New Orleanian of the Year, Gambit Weekly
• 2015 Angel Award, Blue Cross Foundation
• 2015 Ten Outstanding Young Americans, United States Junior Chamber
• 2014 People to Watch, New Orleans Magazine
• 2013 FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award
• 2013 Champion of Change Award, Crescent City Chapter of Links, Inc.
• 2013 Millennial Change Maker Award, Spears Consulting
• 2011 40 Under 40, Gambit Weekly

To book Sonny for speaking engagements and appearances, contact Megan Baldassari at megan@sonofasaint.org.

Partnership Profile

Bill Hines of Jones Walker
Bill Hines is the Managing Partner of Jones Walker LLP law firm and also serves as the Son of a Saint Board of Directors Vice Chair. Hines has been a legal, business, and civic leader for nearly four decades, taking an enthusiastic altruistic approach to his philanthropic involvement over the years. He believes his firm's partnership with organizations like Son of a Saint will serve to create a lasting, positive impact for the Greater New Orleans community.

Bill's introduction to Son of a Saint occurred during the inception of the organization, through his work on other civic matters with the its founder, Bivian "Sonny" Lee. Hines says, "I was very impressed with Sonny and believed in his idea of 'paying it forward' based upon his own experiences as a boy who lost his father at a very young age. The mission was both visionary and inspiring."

Hines and Jones Walker have been generous supporters of Son of a Saint for several years, most recently stepping up and committing a $125,000 multi-year gift to the program, as well as a $150,000 multi-year commitment to the organization's "A Home For Our Boys" capital campaign. In June of 2020, Jones Walker also sponsored and participated in a Juneteenth Celebration for Son of a Saint mentees. The Juneteenth Celebration was a defining moment for Hines, his firm and Son of a Saint, to support causes benefiting racial justice, equity and diversity in our community.

Hines and Jones Walker have had a number of proud moments during their involvement with Son of a Saint, most of them involving direct participation or observation of the program's interactions with its mentees. When asked what was one of the proudest moments with the organization, Hines says that, "As Managing Partner of Jones Walker and a longstanding board member of Ochsner Health, being involved with and observing the exceptionally large financial commitments made by these two organizations, in the case of Ochsner including not just the largest financial gift in SOAS history, but creating a partnership providing ongoing case workers and mental health specialists, in 2020 during a pandemic was certainly a highlight." Hines was in fact a lead advocate in helping to establish a relationship between the leaders of Son of a Saint and Ochsner Health, which helped lead to the unprecedented major partnership collaboration.

Despite entering its tenth year in the New Orleans community, Hines believes there is still an opportunity to address a common misconception about Son of Saint and the organization’s impact on the community. He believes many people, including a number of potential donors, may lack a true understanding of the scope and holistic nature, and measurable successes, of Son of a Saint in fulfilling its mission.

Hines says, "I truly believe that if more people completely understood its current impact, and much greater potential impact, to transform the lives of fatherless boys, most of the boys coming from the most underserved segments of our community, that Son of a Saint could become the most important and transformative social service, social justice, and crime preventative organization in our community."

Both Hines and the team at Jones Walker look forward to a long-lasting relationship, focused on a continued positive path of growth for Son of a Saint in 2021 and beyond. Bill shared that his goal for Son of a Saint in 2021 is to see it significantly grow its cohort of boys participating in the program and further grow its community and philanthropic support so as to allow it to have an even greater impact in the future.

Photo: Hines (R) is pictured with Son of a Saint founder Sonny Lee.

Partnership Profile

Hancock Whitney
Hancock Whitney has a long history of investing in community initiatives and creating positive impact within the Greater New Orleans area. Part of this community investment is reflected in the bank’s continued partnership with Son of a Saint and its lasting commitment to create a better future for our mentees and their families.

For years, Hancock Whitney has stepped up as a generous supporter of Son of a Saint, ranging from sponsorship of the 2019 Gala to providing programmatic support to a recent multi-year pledge of $150,000 to support Son of a Saint’s “A Home For Our Boys” Capital Campaign. Within the newly envisioned Son of a Saint headquarters building, Hancock Whitney will have the Counseling and Education wing of the facility named in its honor. The bank’s support of Son of a Saint has also gone beyond funding with the development and implementation of a financial education program for mentees.

Financial education is a vital tool that when taught at an early age that can make a difference in a young person’s future. Through the Son of a Saint Financial Education Program, Hancock Whitney is providing an invaluable learning foundation for Son of a Saint’s young men, offering them the knowledge and financial know-how they will need to make smart financial decisions throughout their lives. This program shows the mentees the basics of money management, credit cards, credit scores, financing higher education, and other important money matters.

In addition to valued financial support and the financial education opportunities provided to Son of a Saint, Hancock Whitney’s associates have also become personally vested in the program. Executive Vice President & Chief Banking Officer, Chip Knight, sits on the Son of a Saint Board of Directors and Vice President & Corporate Portfolio Manager, Brian King, recently joined the Executive Mentor Council. Both gentlemen believe that being actively involved with the program is important in their mission to create positive impact in the community that they both live and work in.

“Like Hancock Whitney, Son of a Saint is committed to making a difference here in the New Orleans community,” says Chip Knight. “We share a vision dedicated to the future of the young men in this program and will work to ensure Son of a Saint is able to continue to inspire and shape young minds.”

As a proud partner of Son of a Saint and member of the Executive Mentor Council, Brian King says, “Hancock Whitney is a reliable, longstanding financial and community partner committed to creating opportunities for people in the places we call home. We are proud to work with Son of a Saint and the mentees in the program.

For Chip Knight, Brian King and Hancock Whitney, the continued partnership of Son of a Saint is reflective of the company as well as their own personal values. Collectively, there exists a strong belief in building a stronger community together, centered on transforming the lives of the promising young men of Son of a Saint.