NFL Players Marshawn Lynch and Josh Johnson Create Nonprofit for Youth

Good ... on and off the field

​Though they may be NFL players, cousins Marshawn Lynch and Josh Johnson didn't always live the dream. They were born and raised in Oakland; their mothers worked three jobs while their grandmothers took care of them.

Now that Lynch is a running back for the Seattle Seahawks and Johnson is a quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the duo are getting back to their roots, creating a nonprofit that serves underprivileged Bay Area youth.

"They had it tough growing up," said a source close to the foundation who asked not to be named. "They're good boys, and they've had a lot of opportunity come their way. What they're doing is really respectful."

On Thursday, July 7, they will publicly announce their plans to open the Fam 1st Family Foundation at a center in Oakland by 2013.

At the private event at San Francisco's Epic Roasthouse, they will also disclose the foundation's first beneficiary, high school student Willie T. Anderson. Representatives were reluctant to share Anderson's story until the official announcement.

According to the Foundation, the center will offer free programming to "vulnerable communities" to "promote literacy, athletic training, after-school tutoring," and will include "art programs, vocational training, a media center, and much more."

Lynch and Johnson, both 25, previously played football for Oakland Technical High School.

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