Eagles Youth Partnership Executive Director, Sarah Martinez-Helfman, joined U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Dr. Arlene Ackerman, Superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia, and Timothy McKenna, Principal of Furness High School, for a pep rally to connect more of Philadelphia's children and youth to health insurance.

According to Martinez-Helfman, "Children need to be healthy in order to reach their potential and keep America strong. That's why Eagles Youth Partnership supports Secretary Sebelius' challenge of 100% enrollment of children in health insurance. As a non-profit with the power of the Philadelphia Eagles behind us, we can build on the connections we already have with children, parents, schools and local hospitals, to support healthier children, families and communities."

At the October 18th event, the Eagles Youth Partnership accepted Secretary Sebelius' challenge, making the Philadelphia Eagles the first major athletic team to do so. They will support the outreach and enrollment challenge through the Eagles Eye Mobile, which aims to increase the number of children who receive vision care. The Eagles Eye Mobile examines approximately 3,300 Philadelphia school children annually and provides almost 5,000 pairs of glasses (two per child) free of charge. For the more than 400 children that require a visit to a pediatric ophthalmologist, the Eagles Eye Mobile program arranges a visit to a local hospital, transports the child and shares the cost of care with the hospital.