Hometown Highlight: Anthony Lambers and the RP Scholarship

“A misguided and sofa-surfing youth.”

That’s how Anthony Lambers described himself as a teenager living in the Grand Rapids area.

He was headed down the wrong path until he met a man that became his mentor at Wyoming Park High School. He was a freshman. This man, whom he calls “RP,” became a much-needed father figure in his life.

RP helped him get up out of the mud.

“He really helped me stay calm and collected and when I wanted to give up, he made sure that I didn’t,” Lambers said in a video filmed by Design Force Marketing. RP put him in connection with the right people and helped “rehab him back” into a productive member of society.

They talked every day. RP was a mentor and a friend.

Years later, RP lost his battle with cancer. To honor his memory and celebrate the value of mentorship, Lambers launched the RP Scholarship Fund.

Lambers, now a Realtor with At Home Realty in Grand Haven, aims to give back to local youth the way RP gave back to him. His goal is to encourage our youth to “never count yourself out.”

“Your dreams and goals are yours to keep, change, fail at, succeed at and work at. Too many people kill their dreams because of what others tell them or think.”

To continue RP’s legacy, Lambers has created an Endowment through the Grand Rapids Community Foundation. He and his family will leave a positive impact on the community for many years to come.

Click here if you’d like to donate to the fund.

He also launched the Backspin event as a way to celebrate RP and make memories with the local community. The event was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, but we hope it will be back and better than ever in 2021.

“Life is not fair,” Lambers said. “It can hurt and it can also be beautiful. Enjoy it for what it is and live it day by day.”

To learn more about Lamber’s story, the RP Scholarship Fund and the Backspin event, click here.