Warriors center Adonal Foyle is dismayed at what is perceived as the influence exerted over our government by special interest groups, lobbyists and large corporations, and he thinks it needs to stop. In response, he founded Democracy Matters, a rapidly growing organization that promotes campaign finance reform and encourages college students to be politically active.

Foyle's Democracy Matters organization has chapters at more than 30 colleges. (Rocky Widner NBAE/Getty Images)

"During my college years at Colgate, I was upset when I heard people talk about how apathetic our generation is. I never believed them. I believe that our generation is extremely political but they simply feel that they cannot make a difference," he says in the speech he often delivers to groups across the country.

"Furthermore, they were spread out over several issues—environment, gender issues, civil rights, homelessness. Democracy Matters focuses on campaign finance, the most basic issues that affects all the other issues, and therefore brings all the groups together in a coalition. By getting big money out of politics we can restore democracy—the voice of all the people."

Foyle lobbies for his cause everywhere from his own locker room to the halls of government—he has addressed assemblies, panels with Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and at all sorts of college campuses—and he has been getting a great response. The group has chapters at dozens of universities across the country, a busy website at www.democracymatters.org, and has been holding more and more summits and conferences each year.

As if playing in the NBA and running the foundation don’t keep him busy enough, Adonal is also studying to get his master’s degree. He has been active in all sorts of other causes, as well: he outfitted and opened a reading center in his native country, he raises money for AIDS research, he distributes food at shelters on the holidays and he held the first-ever international Read to Achieve event.