NFL Foundation and 50 Fund Announce Legacy Play Initiative for Super Bowl 50

The NFL Foundation and 50 Fund, the legacy fund of the Super Bowl 50 Host Committee, announced today a new Super Bowl 50 initiative for Bay Area youth and communities called PLAY 60, Play On. The program is part of a Super Bowl Legacy Grant Initiative that includes a $1 million grant from the NFL Foundation that has been matched by the 50 Fund.

“Super Bowl 50 has set a goal to be the most philanthropic ever,” said Kamba Tshionyi, Chair of 50 Fund. “Adding PLAY 60, Play On to our 50 Fund initiatives will ensure that we continue to not only make thoughtful grants that help close the opportunity gap for low-income children and youth in our region, but that we also inspire others by lifting up the stories of impact that result from these investments.”

The NFL Foundation and 50 Fund have partnered with KaBOOM!, Playworks and the U.S. Fund for UNICEF to develop PLAY 60, Play On. The three-part platform – Where We Play, How We Play and Why We Play – will bring the nation’s best play initiatives together for Super Bowl 50 with charitable projects revolving around the values PLAY 60 instills.

PLAY 60, Play On will include a community grants program, a series of play extravaganzas and youth worker trainings, the NFL PLAY 60 Challenge, and a new 30-day kids fitness program. The campaign will help reach tens of thousands of Bay Area kids and young adults throughout the nine-county region, while also impacting children around the globe.

Interested applicants can visit play60playon.kaboom.org to apply online. Grants will be awarded in two rounds. The first round application deadline is October 1. The second round application deadline is October 16.

“The NFL Foundation is proud to team with the 50 Fund to establish the PLAY 60, Play On initiative,” said NFL Foundation Director, Alexia Gallagher. “Leaving a positive and lasting legacy for youth and families in the San Francisco Bay Area long after the final whistle on Super Bowl 50 Sunday is an NFL priority.”

PLAY 60, Play On Grants Include:

• Community Grants Program: Where We Play. In partnership with KaBOOM!, the 50 Fund will make up to $750,000 available to Bay Area communities to apply for grants that turn every day spaces into places for play. Guided by the latest behavioral research and examples from communities across the U.S. and around the world, communities will be inspired to remove the “hassle factors” that are barriers to play, and consider creative ways to activate sidewalks, pocket parks, bus stops, and other highly-utilized areas so parents and caretakers can include more play in their children’s daily lives.
• Play Extravaganzas and Youth Worker Trainings: How We Play. Starting in October, Playworks will host a number of Football Extravaganzas where up to 1,000 children and youth will practice their skills and learn new ones with Playworks coaches while participating in games, drills and other fun activities. In addition, Playworks’ two-day Play Leadership Essentials training and Play Days will be offered to youth workers of all 50 Fund grantees (more than 60 Bay Area organizations to date). The training is based on Playworks’ evidence-based model that has been shown to reduce bullying, improve feelings of safety and increase physical activity. This training is estimated to benefit more than 25,000 Bay Area children and youth who participate in these organization’s out-of-school-time programs. 
• U.S. Fund for UNICEF: Why We Play. On the heels of the NFL PLAY 60 Challenge, PLAY 60, Play On is partnering with The U.S. Fund for UNICEF to empower kids in the Bay Area to get active and help save the lives of children around the world.  In the month leading up to Super Bowl 50, Bay Area grade school children will take on a unique challenge that will allow them to learn about the issues faced by their peers in other countries and make a difference just by running, playing and having fun. UNICEF has helped save more children’s lives than any other humanitarian organization, by providing health care and immunizations, clean water and sanitation, nutrition, education, emergency relief and more.
• NFL PLAY 60 Challenge, Super Bowl Edition: Coming to schools this fall, this annual challenge is anchored on NFL PLAY 60, the league’s campaign to encourage kids to be physically active for 60 minutes a day. In collaboration with the American Heart Association, the NFL PLAY 60 Challenge inspires kids to get the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity a day in school and at home. It also helps schools become places that encourage physically active lifestyles year-round. More information on the program, which will be open to Bay Area 4^th and 5^th graders, will be available in October.

To help kids, families and communities learn more, a website has been created with more detail on each program component (www.play60playon.org).