“In order to truly live, you must give.”

Roy Hall’s speech and his Twitter account are full of such snappy affirmations, but they are far from mere fortune cookie wisdoms.

There’s no hollow intent in the focused gaze and metered, careful cadence of the former Buckeye and Indianapolis Colt when he delivers the intention for DRIVEN, the local foundation he pilots along with former teammate Antonio Smith.

The drive behind the foundation’s work, which provides assistance to youth and families through a variety of charitable ventures, from football camps to food donations, is equal parts past struggles, blessings and the doubt of others, Hall says.

“Honestly, for me, what drives me is people telling me what I can’t do. You know, that has always been the thing in the back of my head,” he said. “I am focused on the DRIVEN Foundation and I want it to be a staple in the community. People don’t believe that I’m going to have a building or a facility in five years. They don’t believe, but I will work my butt off until I can get that. And it’s not for me, it’s for the kids. It’s for families, for individuals, for underprivileged families, for people who are in situations that they obviously didn’t want to be in. If I can help and impact their lives, I’m going to keep fighting for it.”

Hall is also driven to “pay it forward,” the phrase so fondly used by Woody Hayes and later reaffirmed by his time under former OSU coach Jim Tressel.

“The one thing that Coach Tressel did for everyone that he brought in was teach them that you’re an athlete second, and the first thing you have to do is give to other people.”

“So he constantly encouraged us to just go visit hospitals, and just to give back to the community,” he said. “He kind of drilled into our minds that it was about giving.”

Perhaps the greatest influence on Hall's decision to start DRIVEN was his mother, who successfully raised him and his sister despite an ended marriage with his heroin-addicted father.

“It’s not fun coming home and your Nintendo’s gone because it’s at the pawn shop, or your sister’s coming home and all her dolls are missing. And watching my mom go through what she went through with that divorce, and watching him go through everything with being a drug addict, was extremely tough. But to have two little kids, man, you’ve got to get your mind right to be able to make it through. So, you know I really think that the thing that drives you always has to be bigger than what you’re working toward. You know, seeing her bouncing checks, or eviction notices, file bankruptcy – whatever it was, she did it, and it kept us afloat. You know, whatever that thing is, it keeps you going, it keeps you working. So my focus has always been trying to get people to figure out what that thing is, and stand in front of them and just keep going.”

On December 17th, Hall and Smith of the DRIVEN Foundation hope to build on the success of last year’s “Mr. DRIVEN’s Truck” event, which provided 1,500 families with 50-pound boxes of food. For more information, visit www.drivenfoundation.org.