As a former player for the Carolina Panthers in the National Football League, Mike Minter has had the pleasure of traveling throughout America and speaking to youngsters of all ages. Young people have always been a passion for Mike, especially with four children of his own. Yet, while on these speaking engagements, Mike noticed something that he found to be most disturbing. That disturbing and common thread was that many of the youngsters he was addressing had lost hope of ever achieving their dreams.

They have lost faith that hard work and dedication and discipline will lead to dreams realized. They are giving up, and they are dropping out of school and if something isn’t done about it, they will be lost forever.

That is why Mike and his team have created Minter Community and the “I Am a Foot Soldier Program,” a non-profit organization dedicated to recapturing the lost hope, the lost faith, and the lost dreams of those youngsters who should be the leaders of the future.

“We are fighting an enemy that we may not be able to see, but an enemy that is very real, and an enemy that wants to destroy purpose and dreams in our youngsters,” Mike says. “The enemy is made real in laziness, coolness, disrespectfulness, guilt, pain, and lack of motivation among others.

“I Am a Foot Soldier” is founded on the principal that we must all come together to fight the common enemy. We are committed to the idea that when our youngsters realize that everything they do in life, in school and in their activities will either drive them closer to their dreams…or further away from those dreams. We are further committed to lead them to rise up and be the champion that God created them to be.

“We are calling ONE MILLION youngsters to this movement to be dedicated to reaching their dreams and goals every day. They will have a purpose to get up every morning to fight for their future. We will show them that nothing is to impossible for them to achieve if they want it badly enough. We are looking for the next One Million leaders for tomorrow. We will connect our soldiers to other leaders who share in their dreams so they can get good, purposeful and sound advice when they need it.”

There can be no more excuses! It is time to answer the question.

“What are you fighting for?”