NFL AND PLAYERS LAUNCH "INSPIRE CHANGE" SOCIAL JUSTICE PLATFORM
January 18, 2019
The National Football League recently launched its Inspire Change platform, which showcases the collaborative efforts of players, owners and the league to create positive change in communities across the United States.
Working together with the Players Coalition, NFL teams and the league office continue to support programs and initiatives that reduce barriers to opportunity. Their efforts will focus on three priority areas:
· Education and economic advancement
· Police and community relations
· Criminal justice reform
The Inspire Change launch included the debut of a new television commercial, which aired during this past weekend's playoff games. Additional versions of the television spot will continue to air throughout the post-season, including on Super Bowl Sunday (February 3) during pregame programming.
As part of the league's ongoing commitment to social justice, the joint NFL players-owners working group recently approved two new social justice grants focused on the three priority areas. The grants were issued to Big Brothers Big Sisters of America (BBBSA) and Operation HOPE.
BBBSA will use the funding to support agencies across the country in creating long-term mentoring relationships that empower youth to reach their full potential and help communities connect across racial and economic divides. Operation HOPE will use the funds to support their nationwide work in underserved communities that equips young people and adults with the financial tools and education to build a better future.
These grants build on the grants the league issued last season to Dream Corps and the United Negro College Fund (UNCF). With this support, Dream Corps' #cut50 initiative helped pass the bi-partisan First Step Act, and UNCF is developing and launching a new criminal and social justice initiative. The new program aims to alleviate the impact of mass incarceration on individuals and communities through the prism of higher education, specifically UNCF's 37 member-institutions and other historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Additional grants will be announced as they are approved in the coming months.
The league also announced a partnership with digital learning curriculum leader EverFi on a high school-focused African-American History education program. NFL funding will allow thousands of students in 175 underserved schools in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Montana and North Carolina to take part in the digital curriculum at no charge to the schools or students. The schools were selected by EverFi based on areas of need and biggest opportunities for impact.