Fight for Life Foundation Grows with Addition of External Relations Consultant to the Team, Second New Staffer in 2024

Fight for Life Foundation Grows with Addition of External Relations Consultant to the Team, Second New Staffer in 2024

Indianapolis Colt alum’s organization hires Chelsea S. Reed as external relations consultant

(INDIANAPOLIS) – August 6, 2024  – NFL Alum Marlin Jackson’s Fight for Life Foundation (FFLF), an Indianapolis not for profit organization that helps underserved youth develop by collaborating with educators to provide social-emotional learning programs, is growing. Today, they announced the addition of Chelsea S. Reed as external relations consultant. In this position, Reed will help lead organization efforts to raise awareness, build effective communications strategies, support brand storytelling, and messaging.

“We’re in a season of growth, and I am grateful,” Jackson said. “I’ve been doing this work in some way for nearly 17 years since 2007. There are countless stories of impact and even more reasons why we – Fight For Life Foundation – are passionate about equipping students to fight for quality in life. This work takes community partners, educators, and a team. It also takes someone like Chelsea, who is skilled at bringing compelling stories to life in a variety of genuine ways.”

Reed is an independent marketing and communications strategy consultant with nearly 20 years experience in the public relations and marketing fields, including writing, media coaching, strategic communications, brand development, advertising, and more. She works with organizations across the city and has led expanded marketing and communications efforts for education organizations, Zion Hope Church, Indiana Black Expo, Inc., HealthNet, Inc., Black Coaches & Administrators Association (formerly Black Coaches Association) and more. Additionally, she has worked in multimedia communications at the Indiana Repertory Theatre, Inc., and led the Office of Multicultural & Diversity Services at Franklin College, her alma mater. 

Reed earned her bachelor’s degree from Franklin College with a double major in News-Editorial and Public Relations & Advertising, plus a minor in Marketing for Nonprofit Organizations. She also is passionate about advocating for equity and encouraging youth and young adults. 

Previously, Reed’s work with the team was more limited. Now, on a part-time basis, Reed will work alongside the FFLF team, many of whom are former educators, leading efforts to increase visibility, help people understand the organization’s why, what, and how, while also connecting the dots between the organization’s impact and shedding light on barriers to education in a more comprehensive way. 

Earlier this spring, Fight For Life Foundation hired Taylor Massey as implementation specialist, a newly created full-time position, to help schools using FFLF’s student-centered Building Dreams platform to expand their access to the software and improve classroom management. Massey is also a former educator.

The Fight for Life Foundation was founded in 2007, and began as a learning curriculum and lessons developed for football camps. It has since evolved into a not for profit organization with a mission to help deserving but underserved youth develop the social and emotional qualities needed to be successful. Building Dreams is a cornerstone program of Fight for Life Foundation and helps organizations create an infrastructure to build relationships, while also monitoring social emotional needs and behavior. It is a comprehensive social-emotional learning (SEL) software as a service  (SaaS) platform comprising an evidence-based Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) that connects all school stakeholders to a student’s behavior, safety and wellbeing. It also equips educators and administrators with the data they need to support their teachers and students with resources to improve classroom management and student behavior issues. This includes engaging students with a fun, gamified program that rewards their responsible decision making and ultimately helps meet their needs. 

“All of this is key. As someone who used to work in schools, I understand the importance of having a supportive environment with resources and an infrastructure to complement the expertise of educators,” Anna Sutter, Fight for Life Foundation Program Director and former school counselor said. “We’re in a landscape where teachers and school counselors are constantly being stretched thin. And now, more than ever, they need more help.” 

According to a June 2022 Gallup Panel Workforce Study, in March of 2020, when the pandemic first began, 36% of K-12 workers reported feeling burned out very often or always, eight percentage points higher than the 28% found among all other workers as a whole. But by February of 2022 that gap had nearly doubled, with 44% of K-12 workers now reporting they feel burned out very often or always, compared with 30% of all other workers – a 14-point difference. 

In 2023, the American School Counselor Association reported that in Indiana, the average student-to-counselor ratio is 519:1, yet the recommendation for the success of school counselors + students is 250:1. 

Currently, over 6,000 Indianapolis youth are using the Building Dreams platform across 17 sites, who are also using it to support their school’s infrastructure. Some schools are directly using software modules to monitor absenteeism (and related underlying issues), combat bullying, provide students with mechanisms to anonymously report (or self report) safety issues, understand the needs of their students, teach critical social-emotional learning competencies, and more. There is also a unique communication portal similar to social media, where students can safely interact with each other and communicate with school leaders. Each school that licenses Building Dreams has the autonomy to customize the way it’s implemented to best fit the needs of the culture and climate.

To learn more about Fight for Life Foundation and its Building Dreams platform, visit FightForLifeFoundation.org.

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About Fight for Life Foundation (FFL)
Founded in 2007, by former Indianapolis Colts cornerback Marlin Jackson, the Fight For Life Foundation helps underserved youth develop the social and emotional qualities needed for success. Since that time it has grown from the vision of founder Marlin Jackson into an independent 501(c)3 organization delivering services to vulnerable youth by providing social-emotional learning programs to more than 18,761 underserved youth.  In 2018, FFL created Building Dreams technology, a comprehensive social-emotional learning (SEL) program that equips administrators with the data they need to support their teachers and students with resources to improve classroom management and student behavior issues. This includes engaging students with a fun, gamified program that rewards their responsible decision making and ultimately helps meet their needs. FFL’s mission is to help deserving but underserved youth develop the social and emotional qualities needed to be successful. FFL programs use technology, education, enriching experiences, and wellness activities as the foundation for positive youth development. For more information, visit: FightForLifeFoundation.org

About Marlin Jackson
Marlin Jackson is a former Indianapolis Colts cornerback. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan, a social entrepreneur, and a lifelong-learner who sees every experience and encounter as an opportunity for learning. As a former collegiate and professional athlete, Marlin was groomed and developed within a structured, organized, and challenging environment. This experience of learning, in the classroom and in the arena of collegiate and professional football, caused Marlin to develop a unique perspective and skill set that is embedded in structure, organization, time-management, leadership, creativity, and passion. Over the years, Marlin has proven himself to be a goal-oriented, disciplined, and driven person who can do whatever is needed to help himself and others succeed. He has displayed these qualities throughout his life as a captain on the University of Michigan football team, in the National Football League with the Indianapolis Colts and Philadelphia Eagles, as a sports analyst and sports radio show co-host, and now, as President of Fight for Life Foundation, Revive Investments, Revive Property Group, MarlinJ28, and Prepare to Succeed. In 2012, Marlin married his beautiful wife, Mrs. Nikki Jackson. Together, they have three smart, handsome, loving boys: Camden, Kingston, and Kash Jackson. Mr. Jackson is extremely passionate about his faith, family, and occupational purposes in life.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Chelsea S. Reed
sparrowreedcommunications@gmail.com
317-353-3064 (mobile)