Most locals know Micheal Spurlock as the former Ole Miss quarterback and NFL wide receiver.

Spurlock hopes in addition to those labels, he will become known for giving back to the community and pouring into young people’s lives.

Spurlock began the Second Wind Foundation in 2015 as an outlet to do just that. The foundation offers a variety of programs to help enhance young people’s lives, including a mentorship program to help middle schoolers transition to high school, a Play 60 program to encourage children to exercise for 60 minutes a day, a healthy cooking seminar to teach nutrition and football camps to help develop athletes.

“When I was growing up, it was all about a village raising a child,” Spurlock said. “We’ve kind of gotten away from that. I’m young enough to where I can relate to kids. We may be saying the same things parents do, but if it’s coming from a different person, they’re more likely to believe in it. That’s what we’re trying to do.”

Spurlock and his wife, Danielle, a Philadelphia native, is his partner in running the foundation, and the desire to help children dates back to just after Spurlock’s NFL career ended in 2014.

“Growing up, I don’t think people understand how much a support system is needed,” Spurlock explained. “A lot of kids don’t have that, and we really have a heart for kids, whether it’s getting them to camps or schooling.”

After Spurlock retired from football, he almost immediately started a reading program that summer in Philadelphia, their new home at the time. They read books like “Gifted Hands” for just more than an hour ever time they got together, and local business leaders would supply food. Other activities included a Bible study that at one point featured 35 to 45 teenagers, as well as a program to help single parents earn a Certified Nursing Assistant certification at East Central Community College. That program is still available through the foundation.

“We paid for them to go back and get that, and it’s an awesome deal,” Spurlock said. “If you’re a single parent working three jobs, who’s really there to take care of the kids? If a parent is able to work two jobs, that’s more time for them to be at home, and that’s more time to look at what the kid is getting at school.”

Some of the young people Spurlock has helped have gone on to graduate high school and attend college, and Spurlock said he hopes to give as many people who need it the “second wind” in order to run their life race strongly.

“Everyone needs that second breath and needs some help, and that’s what it’s all about,” Spurlock said. “When you’re running and tired, you don’t think you can go on, but once you get that second wind, you think you can run forever.”

For more information, visit Spurlock’s website at michealspurlocksecondwindfoundation.org.