Steve Young – you know the NFL Hall of Famer, yeah that Steve Young — became famous for the work he did with his left arm on Sunday’s. It was his famous left arm that helped him lead his team to win a Super Bowl and two NFL Most Valuable Player awards.
But the southpaw quarterback, who starred at Brigham Young University and then later with the San Francisco 49ers, is now becoming famous for his work off the field.
The Forever Young Foundation is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1993 by Steve Young. The Forever Young Foundation is committed to of serve children facing significant physical, emotional, and financial challenges by providing academic, athletic, and therapeutic opportunities otherwise unavailable to them. The funds raised by the foundation will further their efforts to provide an array of opportunities that are currently not at the disposal of the children in the community.
The Forever Young Foundation believes the best way to remain vital and youthful and to have a lasting impact for good is to pass hope and resources on to those members of the next generation who need assistance the most.
For the past 21 years, the foundation has lived up to its’ creed and has been relentless in serving children throughout U.S. by making a conscious effort to do everything in its power to aid underserved communities.
Young’s foundation has made strides in putting development projects in communities across the U.S. Their development projects include Forever Young Zones, which provide technology, multimedia labs, as well as state-of-the-art interactive play areas in children’s hospitals. They also have partnered with the NFL in their nationwide development of Youth Education Town Centers (YET Centers) in each Super Bowl city. They have primarily focused their efforts in Northern California, Arizona, and Utah.
One of the most crowning achievements that the foundation made during its tenure of charitable of work was in 2007. When Steve Young collaborated with close friend, Elder Robert Gray, and his charitable organization, Engage Now Africa, to lend aid to the people of Western Africa. Forever Young stuck to it’s commitment of community outreach and are helping to fight poverty, illness, and illiteracy in the countries of Ethiopia, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Namibia. Through the funding of schools, microcredit loans, and humanitarian assistance, Forever Young and Engage Now Africa are empowering Africans to address their challenges with sustainable solutions.
In 2007, the Forever Young Foundation began installing playgrounds, Sport Courts and artificial turf fields in Ghana. The Forever Young Foundation built a Sport Court in Accra at the Golden Sunbeam School; it is believed to be one of the first Sport Courts ever installed in Africa. Ironically, one of Ghana’s most beloved sport stars first honed his skills on the Golden Sunbeam court. He would eventually go on to play football at Young’s alma mater, BYU, and is now in the NFL. And what is the name of this Ghanaian superstar you ask? Refer to the name Ezekiel “Ziggy” Ansah, who was drafted 5th overall to the Detroit Lions in last year’s NFL Draft.
Ansah has even said that at some point in his career he would like to partake in charitable work similar to what Steve Young has accomplished with the Forever Young Foundation. Ansah said that he would like to put on football clinics for kids, find other ways to offer services to his homeland.
Of course nobody would have expected that Steve Young and his foundation would unsuspectingly play apart of such an improbable story. But in that crazy story, lies the beauty of helping others. It just goes to show that you never know how many lives could be changed forever by a simple act of kindness and a group of people that are willing to go the extra mile to help others. And if that act of kindness can be passed on from one to another, who knows what wonders this world could bring or how many Ansah-like-stories are waiting to be told if given the chance to?
To learn more information on how to get involved with the Forever Young Foundation and to attend any future events, please visit the Forever Young Foundation website at http://www.foreveryoung.org/
