Dayton freshman raising money for Bronx Fire Relief Fund

Smith, who’s from Bronx, N.Y., will donate a portion of the proceeds to the Bronx Fire Relief Fund. The fire in January left 17 people dead, including eight children. He said the fire happened about a seven-minute drive from his home.

“This is a small way I can help provide support for the victims and the countless families impacted in my hometown,” Smith said.

A personal video from Smith costs $100. Businesses will have to pay $500. Fans can make the videos personal by filling out a form with details about what they want Smith to say in the message on the Cameo website.

“I think this will be just another way to interact with fans,” Smith said in an interview Tuesday.

While Cameo was created in 2016 and has featured many different celebrities and athletes, college athletes couldn’t take advantage until the NCAA gave them their name, image and likeness rights last summer. Smith recently signed a deal to represent Hunny Bee’s Crispy Fried, a chicken restaurant on Brown Street. He’s also selling T-shirts with his image.

Smith’s dad Malachi Rosado knows these business deals and new responsibilities could become overwhelming, so he’s told his son, “Basketball’s first.” Dayton coach Anthony Grant had a similar message before the season for all the parents and the players on a Zoom call. It’s all about finding a balance between basketball, school and these new NIL opportunities.

“I don’t want to get him to the point where he’s thinking, ‘I’ve gotta do this,’” Rosado said.

Cameo is hiring more and more college athletes, such as Kentucky star Oscar Tshiebwe and Duke’s Wendell Moore.

Rosado said the idea to do the video for Cameo came from Smith, who had called home after the fire to talk to his parents about what happened.

“My wife and I will probably make the first donation to make a cameo,” Rosado said. “We want him to make like a public service announcement about what happened. The reason people died was because that building had doors that didn’t close automatically. New York law says the doors have to close automatically. So when there is a fire and you leave, the door closes automatically and it keeps the smoke in.”