Fight for Life Foundation, Inc.

Mission Statement

Our mission is to help disadvantaged youth in the areas of education and wellness. Through incentive based programming, we hope to inspire students to reach their full potential; not only in life, but in the classroom as well. We also encourage children to lead a healthy physically active lifestyle through athletics.

Core Values of the Fight for Life Foundation

Fight for Life holds the following core values above all else:

1. Humility:
   We must always remain humble in the face of success and adversity. We must stay balanced in order to remain focused on our goal of directing children’s lives down the right path.
2. Creativity:
   We must strive to be creative in our thoughts and approach towards creating ways to help those less fortunate.
3. Perspective:
   We must always be able to step outside of ourselves and look inside in order to see how others may view the world around us. We need to always remain open to understand and consider the view of others.
4. Passion:
   We must feel with our hearts and souls the passion that lies within us to help those less fortunate. We must be able to absorb and understand the circumstances that exist for those we are trying to help.

Marlin Jackson Bio and Explanation of Fight for Life Foundation.

I was born in Youngstown Oh. and raised just across the border in Sharon Pa. I grew up never knowing my father and still don't to this day. My mother was a woman who struggled with an addiction to crack cocaine. This caused my siblings and I to grow up in a home lacking love, compassion and the proper guidance that a child needs. Our child hood was filled with loneliness and a yearning for love. I eventually was separated from that environment and moved with relatives. Things were better for a short time, but after their divorce, I moved once again. Drifting from place to place is how I felt most times, leaving me numb to the world, so repressed with anger and emotion. Most times in my childhood I felt alone. I moved two more times in high school finally ending up with my high school football coach and his wife for my senior year of high school all the way through college. I was able to overcome my childhood traumas only by God’s grace upon my life.

I attended the University of Michigan on a full scholarship. During my time at Michigan I was named a two time all American and team captain. My senior year in college I decided that once I made it to the NFL, I was going to start a foundation for disadvantaged youth. I was always thankful to make it out of my environment. Most kids from my neighborhood don't make it out. They end up in the streets selling drugs or in jail, so once again God’s grace was upon me.

After graduating from the University of Michigan I was selected in the first round by the Indianapolis Colts in the 2005 draft. Now in the NFL I was in a position to start a foundation to make a difference in the lives of disadvantaged children. In 2006 my cousin approached me about starting a community center named Fight for Life. Once I heard the name Fight For Life I knew that was the perfect name for my foundation. In 2007 Fight for Life was born. In reading my bio I hope you can see how the name Fight for Life is relevant. I had to fight against never knowing my father, having a drug addicted mother, being neglected, moving from home to home, and not having any positive role models. I had to fight for my life, the life that I wanted, the life that was just above the horizon of the ghetto that I could not see. The more I experienced beyond the confines of my childhood, the more I became encouraged to fight for all that is right and just in the world. My hope is to give kids who grow up as I did a fighting chance to make it in the world and to let them know that their environment does not have to dictate who they are in a negative way.

My goal is to introduce kids to life lessons and coach character qualities that I've learned along the way in order to help them side step some obstacles that I’ve faced. We don't know what we don't know! If no one has ever shown or talked to you about love, respect, trust or discipline, then how will you know?

The mission of Fight for Life founders and supporters is to fill a void in kids’ lives where guidance is missing. We hope to give kids the fighting chance that each child deserves in life, the simple qualities that so many take for granted. This is why we feel compelled to help in the fight for a better life for disadvantaged children. This is why we say, “Dream...Believe...You can Achieve!”