WICHITA, Kansas, September 16, 2008 -- "The community really took care of me and my teammates,” says Perez, who played basketball at Wichita State from 1996 to 2000.  “And I applaud them for that."

The shooting guard from San Antonio still holds the school record for steals and ranks sixth in career points.

Four solid years earned him four more overseas where he played professionally in Belgium, England and Germany.

"We got to travel across Europe,” says Perez.  “I proposed to my wife at the Eiffel Tower...it was great."

They've since started a family... Bryson is three and little Brenna is just 12 weeks old.

Now Perez is back in town and hoping to use it to his advantage with his latest project called the Perez Foundation.

"It's my obligation to give back to the community,” he said.  “Not in a guilty way, but in a positive way.  What they did for my family, I want to do for them and for Hispanic athletes."

Wichita State already offers a scholarship to a minority athlete in his name.  Jason wants two or three and wants to make them full rides.

His goals stretch far beyond that. The main focus is improving the lives of young people and his first fund-raiser is a three-on-three basketball tournament September 27th.

"I'm just really excited about what I'm doing and I believe the community is really going to support this and jump on board because in the long run it's going to benefit our young kids."

A Wichita foundation helped launch Jason into the real world... Now he hopes his foundation will help provide a similar starting point for others here in Wichita.