Heart of a Champion
The Heart of a Champion® character development program is a proven solution utilized by schools in 24 states to produce sustained behavioral and attitudinal change in students. The program, operated by the Heart of a Champion Foundation, a Dallas area-based nonprofit, is a national leader in developing character and ethics in varied populations. The organization’s school program is widely regarded as the most effective character development program for secondary school students today. The program is producing substantial measurable results in attitudinal and behavioral change, reduced violent incidents, reduced truancy, reduced drug and alcohol use, and increased grade averages. Over the past 9 years, Heart of a Champion has impacted hundreds of thousands of students in New York, Anaheim, Houston, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, Phoenix, and other urban and suburban areas, as well as after school outlets like the Boys and Girls Clubs and Big Brothers Big Sisters, and juvenile justice facilities such as Rikers Island Prison in New York and facilities throughout Texas.
Heart of a Champion considers the well-being of teenagers to be a sacred trust and must be at the heart of community transformation.
Heart of a Champion has the support of several members of the U.S. Congress and founder Steve Riach has testified before Congress on youth violence and the success of the program.
Heart of a Champion’s partners in this work include Coca-Cola North America, the Dallas Cowboys, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Express Employment Professionals, the Dallas Starts, the Anschutz Foundation, the Houston Texans, Kansas City Chiefs and various other companies, foundations, and individuals.
Participating teachers will be trained and certified by HOC staff. This also provides teachers with required professional development hours as an added benefit to the schools.
The basis of Heart of a Champion is about a lifestyle, a roadmap for living. By deploying this campaign throughout the school year, students will be infused with a new paradigm for living, the application of which, will produce individual achievement along with a better, safer, more productive community.