There are few professional athletes—indeed, few people—as dedicated to serving their community as Marques Douglas. Marques and his wife Sparkle created the Marques Douglas Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit, to provide assistance to youth and families in need through opportunities, support and education. Through fundraising activities, youth football camps, and educational grants, the Marques Douglas Foundation has affected the lives of thousands of kids. Life Skills Challenge for Incarcerated Youth Marques and Sparkle recognized that many at-risk kids don’t receive support from family or traditional school systems: they are incarcerated in youth detention facilities. The Douglases realized that to reach these kids—arguably those who were most in need of help—they needed to create new avenues for accessing and communicating with them. While playing for the Baltimore Ravens, Marques continued to speak to students of all ages, but began making frequent visits to a local juvenile detention facility. The time Marques spent with the incarcerated youth was immensely beneficial to the kids, and his visits soon became a regular weekly meeting. To address the specific needs of incarcerated youth, Marques and Sparkle created the Life Skills Challenge, a program designed to positively motivate and educate. When Marques signed with the San Francisco 49ers, he introduced the Life Skills Challenge to a juvenile detention facility in Santa Clara, where his weekly sessions made him a hero/mentor/educator/friend to hundreds of at-risk youth. Now back with the Ravens, Marques and Sparkle will continue their efforts in their local community. They remain dedicated to reaching out to every child, in hopes of instilling a sense of hope and pride in each one.