Eagles' Philosophy of Community Involvement Starts at the Top
In addition to being responsible for the founding and operation of Eagles Youth Partnership, the club's non-profit, charitable arm, Eagles Chairman/CEO Jeffrey Lurie, and team President Joe Banner, are both personally committed to improving the lives of children. As a director of both the Autism Research Foundation and the National Alliance for Autism Research, Lurie's involvement has been lifelong, including a $1,000,000 donation to N.A.A.R. Similarly, Banner's passion revolves around City Year, a non-profit community service organization that brings together young adults from diverse backgrounds for a challenging and rewarding year of community service.
Players in the Community
Philadelphia Eagles players are extremely active in the community, and participate in numerous charity and civic-related events during the football season and in the off-season as well. In addition to taking part in various events on behalf of Eagles Youth Partnership, players often participate in community events by serving as reading mentors at local schools, and by speaking at youth summits about the importance of staying in school and staying off drugs. Players also frequently welcome special children on visits to the team's summer training camp as well as to the club's year-round headquarters, the NovaCare Complex.
The contribution of time and effort to the community by Eagles players is not limited to those few acts, though. The players' involvement is far reaching. For example, Tackle William Thomas literally donated his head to science when he allowed it to be molded for a permanent exhibit at the Franklin Institute Science Museum. Safety Brian Dawkins is a spokesperson for the Burn Prevention Foundation. Tackle Jon Runyan has donated his time and supported Variety Club and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in local advertising campaigns.
A number of Eagles are also involved in bettering the lives of homeless men at the Bethesda Project, a Philadelphia-area shelter. Several players donate money to the Project, and at Thanksgiving, visit with and serve meals to the residents.
Thanksgiving is also the time when the Eagles hold a stadium-wide food drive to benefit the Greater Philadelphia Food Bank. The past three drives were record-breaking endeavors as fans donated over 11,000 pounds of food at each drive. Later in each holiday season, the Eagles host a highly successful Book & Toy Drive which results in tens of thousands of toys being donated to the United States Marines "Toys for Tots" effort and a near equal number of books being distributed to Philadelphia-area children.
United Way
 As part of the NFL's partnership with the United Way, the Philadelphia Eagles work closely with the Southeastern Pennsylvania chapter of this nationwide charity. The Eagles participate annually in the Hometown Huddle event, which takes place in October. On this day, each NFL team partners with local United Way agencies to positively influence their community. This year the Philadelphia Eagles worked with the Maternity Care Coalition (MCC) and the YMCA South Philadelphia Early Head Start program. The event featured a workshop for new and expectant parents on creating a safe sleep environment for babies and other family health issues. Michael Lewis, Jamaal Jackson and Lito Sheppard worked side-by-side with new and expectant parents to assemble cribs purchased with grant monies donated by the Eagles. These cribs were presented to some of the families in attendance and will also be delivered to additional families in need of cribs.
Hospital Visits
Eagles players and coaches frequently visit children and adults during their hospital stays. In particular, kicker David Akers routinely visits a Philadelphia-area children's hospital during the football season. He regularly ends up apologizing to hospital employees for staying so long and for keeping them long after their shifts have ended. Similarly, Head Coach Andy Reid also makes visits to local children's hospitals during the off-season.
Practice Visits
The Eagles regularly take the opportunity to host local children at private team practices. This type of a visit is usually reserved for children who are generally too sick to attend a game, and always creates lasting memories.
Coaches
Eagles coaches, including head coach Andy Reid, also donate their time to worthy causes. Many act as reading "coaches" in local schools where they assist children learning to read. Coaches also develop individual programs for their player-position groups, and frequently take the groups into the community.
|
