ROCKINGHAM — The William Noah King Foundation will host its inaugural softball tournament March 7, marking a major step in its mission to honor Will King through scholarships, youth support and community initiatives.
“The charity tournament, that’s our first fundraiser, because I’ve got all these plans and we got to make money. That was the boys’ [Will’s friends’] idea. Five out of eight teams are his friends,” said Kristi King, Will’s mother. “One of them is the pallbearers. The second group is just another group of those friends. The Marlboro baseball team, the Marlboro softball team and the youth group all have teams. My corporate teams are State Farm, FirstHealth and [Richmond County] Hospice.”
“It’s going to be fun. People have been tremendous in donating. The Marlboro senior class is doing a drink drive to help with that. It’s really good to see everybody come together,” she said.
After Will King passed away in April 2024 due to injuries sustained in an automobile accident, his mother and his close friends decided to create the William Noah King Foundation to carry forward the values he lived by: friendship, faith and helping others.
“He’s got a core group of guys that are just phenomenal, there’s like 25-30 of them. I told all of them, ‘We’re going to do something good. I don’t know what it is, but we’re going to do something to keep carrying on his legacy,” said Kristi King.
Once the foundation received IRS approval, Kristi King began developing a logo that reflects a meaningful moment from Will’s childhood.
“The logo is his signature. When he was young, he was probably 9, every summer he would ask me to teach him something that he wouldn’t learn at school. Like one year it was Roman numerals, one year, it was Greek mythology. One year, it was cursive writing. He took a piece of paper and he wrote his full signature on it and brought it down to me and said ‘I want you to keep this mama.’ I said, ‘What is it?’ He said, ‘it’s my autograph.’ And I said, ‘well, what do you want me to do with it?’ He said, ‘hold on to it because I’m going to be somebody one day,’” Kristi King said.
The logo also includes an outline of a boy and a girl — an etched image of Will and his cousin — and a crown, a nod to his last name.
Kristi King said her son formed friendships across many different groups, which influenced the foundation’s wide-reaching focus.
“Will had about five different groups of friends. He had friends at Marlboro [Academy], he had friends in Richmond, he had church friends at the youth group, so I knew we needed to do a broad range of things,” she said.
Education was especially important to Will, she said. Will was a member of the National Beta Club and National Honor Society. He attended Marlboro Academy and played on the baseball and sporting clay team.
Last year, the foundation awarded two scholarships at Richmond Community College and one at Marlboro Academy. While the foundation typically offers one scholarship at Marlboro Academy, it is awarding two this year in honor of what would have been Will’s graduating class. Two scholarships will also be awarded at Richmond Senior High School.
“I’ve got two scholarships at Marlboro [Academy]. We normally do one. I’m doing two this year because it’s his class. We also did two at Richmond Senior High, so that kind of covers all of his people,” said Kristi King. “So There will be two scholarships available to seniors who are graduating this year through the foundation.”
Will King attended First Baptist Church in Hamlet, where he was active in the youth group and encouraged others in their faith.
“He was very involved in his church, very involved in the youth group. He had a very strong faith. He encouraged his friends to go to church,” Kristi King said. “He even went and picked people up and brought them to church— we went and picked people up and brought them to church.”
The foundation will sponsor a child to attend the church’s annual mission trip this year. Kristi King said she is also exploring ways to help children attend summer camps, with the foundation’s early efforts focused primarily on supporting youth.
“I’ve told people, I’ve got a list of 100 things, I just got to figure out which avenue we’re doing down first, but right now, it’s predominantly kids,” she said.
Another initiative includes participation in the Adopt-A-Highway program, with different groups connected to Will volunteering throughout the year.
“We did the Adopt-A-Highway. I just thought about it one day, riding home. We did a group in December, which was his core group of guys,” Kristi King said. “We did the first cleanup when we announced it. We did Marlboro yesterday. We have to do four a year. The next group is going to be the youth group. The last one is my family, my neighbors, my friends who are going to come.”
Kristi King also hopes to promote organ donation through the foundation, a cause that was important to Will.
“The biggest thing is his organ donation. That’s something I’m really proud of, that I’m doing to promote through his foundation. He was adamant when he got his license that he’d be an organ donor. I was like ‘are you sure?’ I was floored at how much they were still able to use. I was surprised they were able to use like his heart valves,” she said.
Kristi King said her son’s life was a blessing she never expected.
“I was always told that I’d never have kids. He was a shock— a great shock,” said Kristi King. “He was an old soul. He always hung out with older kids. He loved to travel. We were very fortunate that were able to go and do when he was young.”
She recalled one conversation that reflected his outlook on life. After she told him she could not have another child, he responded, “I guess I’m going to just have to make lots of friends.”
Kristi King said she continues to hear stories from students who remember his kindness, even if they did not know him well. He was known for asking others how they were doing and bringing people together.
Her mission through the foundation remains clear.
“I don’t want him to be forgotten and I want to do good things,” said Kristi King.
The tournament will begin at 9 a.m. at Richmond Senior High School. Admission is $10 for all seven games. Food, drinks and merchandise will be available for purchase, and attendees are asked to bring their own chairs.