World-class boxer donates athletic gear to alma mater in Strawberry Mansion

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The Strawberry Mansion High School basketball team is a few weeks away from the start of the season. It's a year with big expectations.

"Hopefully we win a championship," said senior center Wayne Cooper.

The team is getting some outside help, but it's not the kind you'd expect.

"It feels good. I haven't been here since I graduated," said Tevin Farmer as he was about to walk into the gym.

Farmer graduated a decade ago. Now, he's a world champion boxer and a millionaire.

On Friday, he visited the school for much more than motivation.

"You have to really be inside someone's shoes to know what they feel, and I know how they feel," Farmer said.

He decided to show the kids what it feels like to walk in the kind of shoes he now wears. He donated about $3,000 worth of shoes and warmups to the team.

"When I was going to mansion as a kid, I always said I wanted to give back to my schools and my neighborhood," said Farmer.

It's a gesture the kids don't take lightly.

"It's bigger than basketball," said Cooper. "When you look around the public league, teams that have money get stuff like this. We don't have stuff like this, so it's an honor to get it."