About YLA
Mission
To harness the powerful influences of arts, entertainment, sports and celebrity to empower youth with tools necessary for sustained development and productivity.
Programs
Since 1999, Youth Lifeline America has produced a wide range of customized programs with measureable effectiveness. Programs have included:
Youth Lifeline America’s Humble Beginnings: The Roland Williams Story
Growing up in an economically disadvantaged neighborhood in Rochester, NY, Youth Lifeline America’s Founder & CEO, Roland Williams’ childhood included many challenges at a young age. Whether poverty, drugs, gangs, promiscuity and/or uneducated behavior, Roland saw and heard a lot that would have a lasting impression.
Despite numerous attempts from his mother, teachers and family to shelter him from his immediate environment, he found himself constantly getting into trouble and hanging with the wrong people. In the 8th grade, things began to unravel. Roland’s grades started to slip. He started skipping classes. He joined a gang. He was introduced to the prospect of becoming a drug dealer. Roland was on a direct course to a crime, jail or death. It was time for a change. Roland moved to live with his father.
Roland’s dad, a strong-minded juvenile detention counselor, had different plans for Roland. During their time together, he decided to use one of Roland’s favorite things, sports, as a tool for him to focus his life and remove himself from the negativity of his environment. Over the next few years, it began to work. In the 11th grade, Roland was put in position to attend a football camp that would change his life forever.
Upon arrival to the Syracuse University Football Camp, Roland was amazed and astounded at every turn. From state-of-the-art football equipment, high-end shoes, pristine uniforms, large locker rooms, immaculate weight room, and even the well-manicured practice fields, Roland had never seen anything like it. Roland was especially elated as he enjoyed unlimited food and beverages available to every camper; no matter how much money you had your pocket.
But something else happened during the camp. He began to learn things beyond the game of football. Specifically, he noticed:
The way college students spoke with such articulation, seemed so organized and carried themselves with such dignity despite their diverse origins.
The encouraging feedback from the coaches, academic staff and professors who said he could attend college and that there were resources available to pay for his education.
The feeling of a college campus being an oasis from the challenges he faced in his neighborhood.
After leaving the camp, many seeds were planted. Roland was empowered and believed a few simple principles:
A person without a lot of money COULD actually go to college.
There ARE successful people out there that want to see him succeed.
He WAS talented enough to become a successful student OR an athlete.
When Roland returned home, he was eager to tell his classmates about his eye-opening experience at the camp. To his surprise, his teammates didn’t believe anything he had to say. They didn’t believe his claims of “abundance” and “opportunity” just two hours up the road at the “camp for rich kids”. They balked at the idea that there was a genuine opportunity for anyone from the “hood” to attend a college like Syracuse University, and that there were successful people ready and willing to show them the way. Roland was disappointed. He couldn’t believe no one would believe him!
After reality sunk in, the experience was very motivating for Roland. He vowed to pursue the opportunities that he had just witnessed at Syracuse University with passion and intensity. He also vowed that after he “made it” in life, he would create an environment to help people just like his teammates to identify and connect with opportunities and resources beyond their current reality.
After graduating from East High School, Roland went on to receive a full athletic scholarship to Syracuse University. As a football player, Roland excelled. A three-year starter and All-Big East selection tight end, Roland won numerous awards and enjoyed playing with some of the best players in NFL history including Pro Bowl Quarterback Donovan McNabb, Pro Bowl Wide Receiver Marvin Harrison, Pro Bowl Linebacker Keith Bulluck, and Pro Bowl Kicker Olindo Mare.
Academically, Roland also exceeded expectations. After earning his BS degree in Speech Communications with a minor in management, Roland continued his education and became the first Syracuse University football player ever admitted into the prestigious S.I Newhouse School of Public Communications Public Relations Masters program.
When not on the field or in the classroom, Roland also started the framework for his childhood dream of creating resources for youth. In his junior year, Roland started the Syracuse Jam Session, an outreach program that exposed thousands of inner-city youth to the Syracuse University campus and the collegiate population. Complete with a celebrity basketball game, educational community booths, entertainment, food, music and giveaways, the Syracuse Jam Session is still the largest charity event in University history coordinated by a student-athlete.
In 1998, Roland’s college career ended when he was selected 98th overall in the NFL draft by the St. Louis Rams. During his rookie season with the Rams, he started in 14 games and earned Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. In 1999, he started all 16 games and was a part of the legendary “greatest show on turf” team who ultimately won Super Bowl XXXIV over the Tennessee Titans.
In 1999, Roland also formally realized his childhood dream by founding the “Roland Williams Youth Lifeline Foundation” with its purpose to harness the powerful influence of sports to download vital life skills to youth in upstate New York. Starting with his own capital, no paid staff, and working 60 hours a week out of his guest room, Roland coordinated the first ever Free Football and Life Skills Camp in his hometown of Rochester, NY.
Following the camp, the response was astounding. His unique combination of sports, entertainment and education had captivated and inspired all involved with the program. After receiving feedback from dozens of athletes, entertainers and business professionals, Roland realized that his childhood vision had the potential to impact youth far beyond his hometown.
At that moment, Youth Lifeline America was officially born.
To assist with communicating the long-term vision of the charity, Roland altered the name of the charity, instantly making Youth Lifeline America one of the only non-profit organizations in history founded by a celebrity that did not bear his name or likeness. This enhancement allowed Youth Lifeline America to also be an inspirational magnet for collaborations with celebrities, business professionals and other non-profits.
As Roland’s NFL career expanded into seasons with the Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, so did the work of Youth Lifeline America. By focusing on measurable effectiveness, strategic collaboration and attention to detail, Youth Lifeline America began its expansion across the nation, inspiring thousands of athletes, entertainers and business professionals to make a difference in communities across the nation and beyond.
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