After football, Seahawks’ Doug Baldwin turns passion to building family center

SEATTLE -- Former Seattle Seahawks star receiver Doug Baldwin is already making his next big play for the community.

He’s throwing his support and $1 million of his own money into building a family community center in Renton.

Baldwin says he wanted to give back to the Cascade-Benson community that supported him throughout his career.

It was the place Baldwin moved to as an undrafted rookie in 2011 and a place that wrapped its arms around him.

But Baldwin says when he talked to kids in the area, there was one glaring issue within the community -there was nowhere to go.

“There wasn't much of a program or hub for the community that I had back home in Florida,” Baldwin explained. “I thought, ‘Maybe that would be good one day to bring that to life here, and now we're here.'"

Baldwin has been working on this alongside the city of Renton for five years. The Family First Community Center will be built right next to Cascade Elementary in Renton and serve a community where 12% of the population lives below the poverty line and 20% is 14 years old or younger.

With help from the city, First Financial Foundation, Washington state, Baldwin's $1 million donation and others, they've come up with $10 million. But they still need another $5 million to complete the facility.

Baldwin hung out at a similar community center while growing up in Pensacola Florida. For him, it provided much-needed support and the people there became his extended family and a key to his success.

"Just providing that love and unconditional support that you need from a family, support you need from the community and your tribe,” he said. “More than just the physical location, the physical facility, it was about the people who invested in me."

And he desperately wants to see the Family First Community Center get built.

If you would like to help, see their website.