Eugene Campbell III knows what it’s like to be overlooked.
Campbell, who grew up in Jersey City, has felt that way throughout his basketball career, which really began when he failed to make the team at East Brunswick Vocational Technical School as a freshman. But Campbell worked tirelessly to make the cut as a sophomore, walked on at Middlesex County College, and transferred to Division III New Jersey City University, where basketball helped him earn a master’s in educational psychology, one of three degrees.
Eugene Campbell III played basketball at NJCU before his professional career took him overseas. Photo courtesy of NJCU Athletic Communications
Now 27, Campbell plays professionally overseas in Tunisia after stints in Moldova, Armenia and Bosnia. As a combo guard, he can shoot and pass on the court. Off it, however, he’s focused strictly on assists.
Campbell is the founder of Walk a Mile N Our Shoes, which helps homeless people and low-income families. The Jersey City nonprofit was partly inspired by Campbell’s athletic journey, but also by a childhood in the Hill, a Jersey City neighborhood that exposed him to poverty.
“There’s so many people out there that are overlooked,” Campbell says. “I want to help them out because I know what it feels like. I know what it feels like to be underappreciated.”
Walk a Mile N Our Shoes has two or three outreach events each month, during which the group distributes clothes, shoes, backpacks, toiletries and water. The organization accepts financial donations and new or used goods. Volunteers are also welcome.
Walk a Mile has performed community service throughout New Jersey, as well as Philadelphia, New York, Virginia and Utah. Campbell’s work with the fraternity Psi Sigma Phi has helped Walk a Mile leave an imprint on college campuses, where bins collect donations.
Campbell, meanwhile, is only home in New Jersey for two to three months a year due to his overseas career. But distance has not stopped him from remaining involved; he’s frequently in Zoom meetings and communicating with COO Shawn Hawkins, chief technology officer Christopher Lugo, and Walk a Mile’s committee. “I’ve got a wonderful team,” Campbell says. “I keep it to my family and close friends. People that I know, people that I trust…. I can do things and still follow my dreams at the same time.”
Campbell could have focused solely on basketball once he got his first professional contract, but Walk a Mile started to take off when he was in graduate school. The sport had already taught him not to give up, and Campbell knew he could make a difference in areas like the one where he grew up.
So once again, he stuck to it.
“Tomorrow is not promised, and you only live once,” Campbell explains. “So if you have a great idea in your head that you feel like can change the world, just go ahead and do it. If there’s a will, there’s a way. You just gotta do it.”
Founded in 2021, Walk a Mile N Our Shoes assists those in need, including homeless people and low-income families. The nonprofit welcomes donations of goods and money, as well as volunteers. Visit walkamilenourshoes.org or email [email protected] to learn more.
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