Saints' Kenny Vaccaro overcomes personal hardships and starts foundation to give back

As a local sports star, Vaccaro has found a way give back to his newfound home that carries a personal weight with the NFL star. Growing up in Texas, Vaccaro's mom stressed the significance of a good education, while still providing for the family on a limited income.

Despite the disadvantages of living in a single-parent household, Vaccaro found himself at learning centers--at his mother's request-- to maintain a quality level of education throughout his childhood. As a result, Vaccaro believes the children of New Orleans deserve to hear this same message.

The mission of The Kenny Vaccaro Foundation is to provide economically-challenged students with literacy and education resources so that they can achieve academic excellence, develop confident personal skills and make positive decisions to avoid high-risk behavior.

"I mean [for] a lot of these kids especially in the New Orleans area, there's no hope...they see the drugs, they see the guns, they see the music videos, they see the Migos, and Future and all them, and what all those guys rap about... but at the end of the day you need to have a foundation so you can see through all of that," says Vaccaro.

Not only is Vaccaro a defender on the field, but he is a champion for the disadvantaged youth of New Orleans. Vaccaro's success in school and in his sports career sets a great example for kids on the necessity for hard work inside as well as outside of school.