The Non-Profit QB
10/23/2008 8:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 23, 2008
As a youngster, Jordan Steffy always knew that he wanted to make a difference in the world, but until he crossed paths with James Kline, he was not sure how.
During his career at Conestoga Valley High School in Lancaster, Pa., Steffy not only starred as the school's quarterback, but on the basketball court, where he became the first player at his high school to score 1,000 points.
In the week leading up to his achievement, there was a large article written in the local newspaper about Steffy. He excitedly read the piece, but when his mother Shari pointed out the small blurb below, Steffy's focus quickly changed. The second story was about Kline, a boy from the same high school that Steffy did not know, who was in need of life-saving brain surgery due to his severe epilepsy.
"Throughout the week, I went on the news and the school news, telling people that we needed to raise money for this boy," said Steffy. "At the game, we made a collection, and we ended up raising enough money that his mother was able to take off work for a month and take him to get this brain surgery he needed."
Steffy did not dwell on the act of charity, but Kline remembered the gesture and showed up at Steffy's door four months later. Kline had suffered from sometimes 30 seizures a day, but the surgery changed that. Steffy said Kline was like a different person when he walked in the door and the idea for the Children Deserve a Chance Foundation was set in motion.
"Seeing that a week's worth of work could change somebody's life like that really stuck with me and it's what made me start this foundation," said Steffy. "It's a long process to become incorporated and making a non-profit organization. There was a lot of paperwork and the IRS and the State of Pennsylvania, and that took almost a year-and-a-half before everything was situated."
Since the foundation was set up, it has held two charity golf tournaments - raising $42,000 at last year's event. The foundation continues to support the Epilepsy Foundation, and this year, they gave three partial scholarships to aid high school seniors with college expenses. The organization is also working on the development of a youth center in Steffy's hometown of Lancaster.
"I'm very big on education, so the youth center would give disadvantaged kids more opportunities and try to `catch them up' to children who attend private schools," said Steffy.
The foundation's work is not just limited to Lancaster, however. A backup quarterback for the Terrapins, Steffy met a young girl at a community service event during the Champs Sports Bowl, which led the foundation to working with the New Image Youth Center and its director, Shantae Stubbs, in Orlando, Fla.
"I was paired up with a little girl named Winnie (from New Image), and she was very smart and articulate, and she was only eight years old," said Steffy. "It was a situation of girl who was smart but wasn't accountable to anyone. If she didn't have someone to look up to, she could very easily go down the wrong path. There are a lot of stories like that have kept me pushing for this foundation."
Steffy juggles his responsibilities as a busy student-athlete and his involvement in the foundation with the support of several volunteers and contributors.
"There are a lot of people who help," said Steffy. "There is a committee of eight people, as well as 25-30 volunteers - by no stretch is it all me. My mother, Shari Steffy, is involved a lot and it's almost like a full-time job for her."
Although the foundation is certainly not a one-man show, Steffy's idea and involvement were recently honored as he was named to the 2008 Allstate/American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Good Works Team. He was one of 22 collegiate football players selected from a group of 71 nominations.
Steffy will graduate with a Master's degree in Real Estate Development this year, and has hopes of attending law school in the future, but no matter what his career brings, he wants to grow the foundation and continue providing positive experiences for children.
