Keith Jackson

NFL Great Jackson Scores With PARK, Gives Back to At-Risk Youth

Keith Jackson may have had a successful, lucrative professional football career away from Arkansas, but he didn’t forget his roots.

As Jackson’s career was winding down, he was busy developing PARK, or Positive Atmosphere Reaches Kids, an organization in southwest Little Rock that serves 250 at-risk youths, helping them grow and continue their education.

“Like so many other children, I grew up in a single-parent home in a rough-and-tumble neighborhood,” Jackson says. “Many of my friends became dropouts and drug addicts. Some wound up dead – the victims of violent crimes and drug overdoses. I might have easily followed the same path, but my mother and extended family taught me right from wrong and gave me confidence in myself.

“Now, more than ever before, our children are growing up without hope. They are angry and confused; they have no goals or dreams. I want to change that.”

Jackson proudly notes examples such as Kim Adams, PARK’s top student last year, who plays high school sports and maintains a 3.5 grade-point average taking honors courses. Before Adams found PARK, he was struggling in junior high with barely above a 2.0 GPA.

Jackson was a high school All-American football player at Little Rock Parkview and a consensus college All-American at the University of Oklahoma. He was a first-round draft choice of Philadelphia and later traded to Miami before reaching the pinnacle and winning a Super Bowl with Green Bay in the 1996 season before retiring.

Six years ago he started raising money for PARK. The entity does not charge fees for services or accept government funds, relying strictly on donations from corporations, foundations and individuals. Since 1992, PARK has received more than $2 million in donations and pledges.

Jackson’s long-term goal is to see the PARK model copied nationwide.

As president of PARK, Jackson has received numerous service awards and honors. His outstanding football accomplishments have resulted in his induction into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame later this month.

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