Richard Giddens Jr. was born in Glen Cove, New York. His parents relocated to Huntington NY, when he was five years old, then to Huntington Station NY, when he was twelve years old. As a middle-class family, Rich was fortunate to be raised by both of his parents. Most of Rich’s friend were also middle class, being exposed to positive and negative environments.

By the age of eleven, Rich and most of his friends had dreams and aspirations of being a professional athlete (NBA, NFL, MLB). By the age of fifteen, Rich was continuing to pursue his dream, while many of his friends were beginning to fall to mentality of “The Block.” Peer pressure was on the rise, and every decision was vital.

As a basketball player, Rich played varsity basketball as a Freshman, at Walt Whitman high school; then went on the lead the team in scoring as a Sophomore. Rich then transferred to Long Island Lutheran. As a senior, he was awarded 1^st team All Long Island, Team MVP, and Most importantly, lead the Crusaders to their 1^st Class “A” State Federation Championship. Rich Giddens is known, for going head-to-head with High School All American & NBA Star Ron Artest. Artest was the star player for LaSalle Academy who was undefeated and ranked #2 in the nation when Long Island Lutheran shocked the world.

Rich accepted a Division I basketball scholarship to the University of Maryland Baltimore County, where he went on to lead the team in scoring as a freshman. Rich being very passionate and somewhat out spoken, found himself at odds with his college coach and never returned to stardom. Rich watched his dream deteriorate, lost focus in college, struggled with depression, and became very angry.  Rich then had his Scholarship revoked, following an on-campus fight.

UMBC President, Dr. Hrabowski, saw something in Rich and despite the negative reports and uncompelling recommendations, Dr. Hrabowski decided to give Rich a second chance to prove himself and granted Rich a full scholarship from the President’s office. In May of 2003, Rich graduated from UMBC, with a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems.

Rich always had a passion for working with and building up youth.  However, his college degree was not in the area which interested him and the area in which Rich was passionate, did not pay very well. Rich continued to work with youth, but struggled to find himself. Rich faced the shame of going from a superstar athlete with so much promise, to a struggling adult.

After many years of service in the youth sector as a summer program director, a summer camp basketball coach, and an AAU basketball coach, Rich birthed a travel basketball program called Open Season. He then landed an amazing opportunity as the Athletic Director at Upper Room Christin School (URC). In a three-year duration, Rich established URC as a Long Island Powerhouse and a nationally recognized program. In addition to establishing numerous sports programs, Rich also established a summer program and founded Long Island’s first ever Post Graduate basketball program.

Richard Giddens Jr. is filled with personal life experiences, unique accomplishments, and the necessary exposure to lead, teach, mentor, and train a wide range of individuals. As the Founder of As For US & Our House, Rich will be overseeing multiple programs, while using his expertise to establish a unique program called “I Empower Me.”

Many youth and young adults don’t realize the long-term effects of the decisions, until they are reaping the harvest.  This program will teach people to cast self-vision, access opportunities, own their emotions, take on challenges, accept responsibility, set goals, deal with disappointment, establish a mentality of a champion, and invest in themselves.

In partnership, with other programs offered by As for Us & Our House, the general areas of focus for the “I Empower Me” program are Gang Prevention, Substance Abuse prevention, Teen Pregnancy Prevention, Education, Depression, Safe Sex, Single Parenting, and College Scholarships.