Tens of thousands of books, school supplies, sports equipment and games will be put into the hands of underserved children in the greater Twin Cities area thanks to the efforts of local students.
The National Football League has teamed up with local schools, the Minnesota Vikings, Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee, Verizon, Braemar Field, the City of Edina and the YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities for a Super Bowl project called Super Kids-Super Sharing. The project will culminate with a donation event on Thursday, January 18, 2018 at the Braemar Field Dome (7509 Ikola Way, Edina, MN) The donation portion of the event runs from 9 a.m. to noon with a brief ceremony at 10 a.m.
Representatives from the Minnesota Vikings including cheerleaders and team mascot Viktor will be on hand to greet and thank the students and coordinators. They will be joined by representatives from the NFL, the Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee, Verizon and the City of Edina. The Vikings will host a PLAY 60 camp for students to enjoy once donated items have been sorted.
Joining in the effort are schools from Andover, Bloomington, Brooklyn Center, Burnsville, Chanhassen, Chaska, Collegeville, Eagan, Edina, Fergus Falls, Golden Valley, Hastings, Hopkins, Hutchinson, Inver Grove Heights, Lakeville, Minneapolis, Minnetonka, New Hope, Onamia, Owatonna, Plymouth, Prior Lake, Red Wing, Redwood Falls, Robbinsdale, Saint Paul, Shakopee and Wayzata.
This grassroots community project started in local homes earlier this winter as students and families gathered up lightly used (or new) books, school supplies, sports equipment and games to donate. Those items were collected at participating public and private schools and at 23 YMCA branches.
Students and coordinators will drop off and help sort donated items during the morning hours on January 18th at Braemar Field. That afternoon designated schools and organizations that serve local children in need will select the items their children can use.
Verizon is an established supporter of Super Kids-Super Sharing and as part of the event, used cell phones and accessories are being collected for the Verizon Foundation to help all students engage in STEM education. During the 10 a.m. ceremony to thank students for being part of Super Kids, Verizon will make a $25 thousand donation to Sabathani Community Center.
The NFL has implemented the Super Kids – Super Sharing project in each Super Bowl host city for the past 18 years. Since its inception in 2000 at Super Bowl XXXIV in Atlanta, the Super Kids-Super Sharing project has placed hundreds of thousands of books and pieces of sports equipment into the hands of children in Super Bowl host communities.
The Super Kids – Super Sharing project is part of the NFL’s Environmental Program. It teaches children to repurpose items they no longer need and pass them along to others who can benefit from them. The program also promotes NFL PLAY 60, the league’s youth health and wellness campaign, by sharing sports equipment among children in the community.
NFL Environmental Program
Super Kids-Super Sharing is one of several projects created by the NFL and the Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee to respond to the environmental impact of Super Bowl events and to leave a positive, “green” legacy in the host communities. Tens of thousands of pounds of unserved prepared food from Super Bowl events will be distributed to local shelters and community kitchens in partnership with Second Harvest Heartland. Solid waste from Super Bowl events will be recycled and leftover décor and construction materials will be donated to local organizations for reuse and repurposing. US Bank Stadium, the site of Super Bowl LII, and several other major NFL Super Bowl event venues will be powered using “green energy” to reduce the climate impact of Super Bowl events.
During the summer and fall months, more than 12,000 trees and 4,000 native plants were planted in partnership with Verizon and Andersen Corporation to help create additional green space in local communities. Eight pollinator gardens were also installed in partnership with the Minnesota Zoo.
Last October, Verizon, the NFL and the Minnesota Zoo teamed up for an e-waste event that diverted 42,081 pounds of e-waste from the landfill for responsible recycling, making it the largest Super Bowl e-waste event to date. These environmental projects are part of a large number of community events and initiatives implemented each year by the NFL and Super Bowl Host Committee to leave a positive benefit in each Super Bowl host community.
