A former University of Miami Hurricane and Miami Dolphins football player is helping raffle off five-figure prizes Saturday.

Larry Hope believes some families need a financial win more than either team competing in Monday night's game. So, he is running back to his future.

"My mom used to say, 'It's nice to be nice,'" Hope said. "So, this is the perfect time for me to be nice."

Near the stadium staging the College Football Playoff National Championship game between the Indiana Hoosiers and hometown Miami Hurricanes, Hope is pulling together his new squad.

A legend in the making

He grew up in Miami Gardens, wanting to be legendary. He first thought football would do it. Now, he is using a nonprofit to be a legendary giver.

Last October, "True Hope" volunteers fed people in Overtown. Now, with the football game and weekend-long events around it piling up cash for sponsors and partners of the event, True Heart is giving blue-collar families a way to win, too.

The group organized a fitness festival at American High School in nearby Hialeah on Saturday, with $5 raffle tickets to buy spots on teams that compete for fun in a 5K walk/run, dodgeball and playground games like charades. The money raised goes to American Sign Language programs, Hope said.

The people entering the raffle get a chance to win a car — its make and model are surprises.

"I'm not going to say it's going to be the biggest car," Hope said. "But it's going to be a car where people have access to do something. Then, for most people, they don't have time to go out of town [because they're] working so hard. You might not have the funds because you know how life is right now."  

The other big-ticket raffle prize is not: The group is giving away a Dominican Republic vacation for two people. It is the kind of free, Caribbean getaway that made shoppers smile in Miami Gardens.

"He shouldn't have to [use his own money] to [do this] since there's so much money going around in the government," said shopper Christopher Harris. "But if he feels that's what he needs to do to make it happen, then that's great on his part."

So, the group wants to offer hope.

The festival begins with check-in at 9 a.m., with games leading up to the raffle at 2:45 p.m.