NFL running back CJ Anderson to host free football camp for kids in Vallejo

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Carolina Panthers running back and Vallejo native CJ Anderson is hosting a football camp on July 21 at Vallejo High School. The camp is free of charge and will feature two sessions for young athletes ages 7 to 17. Learn more here.

"I bring a lot of NFL guys out," Anderson told ABC7 News. "We keep the camp free because when I was young I couldn't afford to go to camp, so now we give every kid the opportunity to just learn the basic fundamentals of football. But then also know that football is a game that teaches you teamwork and hard work."

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This is the third year in a row Anderson has held the camp. Last year, 580 kids took part. Anderson said many arrive day-of as walk-ups.

WATCH: CJ Anderson's Football Camp 2017

The summer camp is run by Anderson's foundation, Dreams Never Die, a nonprofit that seeks to provide inner-city and low-income youth resources they need to excel at athletics and academics.

One of the foundation's other initiatives will take place Friday, before the football camp. Anderson will bring 40 students to the global headquarters of Google for a tour of the world-renowned campus in Silicon Valley. Students from Jesse M Bethel and Vallejo high schools have been invited to attend.

"Working with inner-city youth, a lot of kids in my neighborhood ... believe that sports or entertainment is the way of success. And that's not true," Anderson said. The point of his foundation is to show kids there are opportunities outside those fields, "whether that's technology, art, cooking," he explained.

"You can be anything that you possibly want to be and still be successful," Anderson added.

For more information on the Dreams Never Die foundation, visit www.dndfoundation22.org.

Follow Dreams Never Die on Twitter: @DNDFoundation22.