With Super Bowl XLII showcasing current NFL stars, now is a perfect time to showcase Elance buyer Doug Hollie, a former player and current star in the San Francisco Bay Area community.



Doug Hollie is the founder of S.M.A.R.T. Students, Inc., a non-profit charitable organization dedicated to helping underprivileged and inner city youths through education, counseling, recreation and sports, and life skills training. 

This February Doug will be formally honored by PBS affiliate KQED and Union Bank of California as one of five "Outstanding Unsung Local Heroes." 
 
A defensive end with the Seattle Seahawks in the 1980s, Doug retired, became a probation officer - and in the process found a calling. "I started S.M.A.R.T. Students because the kids I dealt with seemed trapped in a never-ending cycle: They went from group homes to the youth authority and back to group homes . . . and I knew if we could get the community involved we could make a real difference."
 
S.M.A.R.T. Students has made a lasting impact. Since 1996, over 50 children who entered the program from the juvenile system have gone on to become college graduates. Over 200 children are currently in the program, and this year Doug estimates approximately eight will receive college scholarships.



"Each one is a child who otherwise would never have gotten a chance to go to college," says Doug. "One of our kids just graduated from college with a Psychology degree.  Now he's working with a school district in Los Angeles. When he joined our program he couldn't read or write."
 
As if he isn't busy enough, Doug also started the Dublin Mustangs, a youth track and field development organization. With national-caliber athletes serving as role models, the program teaches techniques and training skills. "Our goal is to give kids options," says Doug. "We help kids tap into the resources within themselves—their hidden talents—to help them achieve their academic goals."
 
Doug recently posted a project on Elance to create the Dublin Mustangs website, which will be funded by the S.M.A.R.T. Students organization. The websites and other promotional activities are designed to spread the word and hopefully attract funding and a major sponsor. Their current goal is to have at least 1,000 donors contribute $20 or more to their scholarship programs. "Elance continues to be a blessing to us," says Doug. "Without Elance providers I don't know where we would be today."