Meet the founder

Jordan Steffy, the founder of the Children Deserve a Chance Foundation, was raised in a single-parent, low-income household in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Pushing against the odds, Jordan found himself in college at the University of Maryland, feeling two contradicting emotions: gratitude and guilt. His teachers and mentors had helped him achieve his dream of attending college, but he felt guilty for leaving behind dozens of friends who had not been supported in the same way.

At the end of his time in college, the most important thing to Jordan was that other young people from marginalized communities should be empowered to become better versions of themselves. Jordan dreamt of providing mentorship for young people across the country to help empower them to set and achieve goals they never imagined. In 2008, Jordan founded the Children Deserve a Chance Foundation (CDCF) to give back to the community that shaped him and plant seeds of inspiration in young minds.