FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- The Boys and Girls Clubs of Hall County will receive a $100,000 field development grant from the Atlanta Falcons as part of the National Football League Grassroots Program.
The grant, awarded by the Falcons, the NFL Youth Football Fund and Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), is part of $2.5 million allocated this year to build or refurbish playing fields in NFL communities. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Hall County will use the grant to build a new natural grass football field at the new Joseph Walters Boys & Girls Club in Gainesville. The field, scheduled to open this summer, will be used by more than 2,500 youth each year and will be an Atlanta Falcons Fitness Zone site. Atlanta Falcons Fitness Zones seek to raise the number of kids spending more time in organized physical activity year-round.
“The Atlanta Falcons are proud to help bring a new playing field to the thousands of kids who visit the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hall County every day,” said Arthur M. Blank, owner & CEO of the Atlanta Falcons. “The new field will help the clubs make a difference in the lives of children and families in Gainesville and across Hall County.”
The NFL Grassroots Program, a partnership between the NFL Youth Football Fund and LISC, the nation’s leading community development support corporation, has resulted in the construction or renovation of 170 football fields nationwide in the past decade. During the last 11 years, the NFL Youth Football Fund has granted more than $25 million to revitalize playing fields in underserved neighborhoods. Fields are newly built or significantly renovated, with improvements such as irrigation systems, lights, bleachers, scoreboards, goal posts and turf. Grassroots grants are issued once established funding thresholds are reached for each project.
“These fields help us make an impact where assistance is most needed and provide a tangible sign of our Youth Football Fund in action,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who also is a member of LISC’s national board of directors. “We are proud to support projects that give youngsters a safe place to play and bring families and neighborhoods together.”
LISC identifies local nonprofit neighborhood-based agencies which have an interest in building or refurbishing football fields in schools and parks in underserved neighborhoods. Through the program, the local agencies are provided with the necessary financing and technical assistance to improve the quality and safety of fields in their neighborhoods. The local agencies oversee the construction, maintenance and programming of the fields.
“At LISC, we are focused on helping distressed communities become good places to live, work, do business and raise families,” said Michael Rubinger, LISC president and CEO. “We call it Building Sustainable Communities, and developing sound recreational opportunities is a key piece of our work. The NFL has been a committed partner in helping make that happen.”
About the Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation
The Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation (AYFY) was established in 1985 to serve as the philanthropic arm of the Atlanta Falcons. Since Arthur Blank acquired the Atlanta Falcons in 2002, AFYF has grown to be the largest owner-funded foundation in the National Football League, providing more than $16 million in grants to nonprofit organizations across the state of Georgia to improve youth fitness and reduce childhood obesity.
About the NFL Youth Football Fund
Established in 1998 by the NFL and the NFL Players Association, the NFL Youth Football Fund seeks to use football as a catalyst to promote positive youth development, support youth and high school football needs nationwide and also ensure the health of grassroots football in future generations. Through the YFF’s youth football initiatives and support programs, youngsters are provided with opportunities to learn the game of football, get physically fit and stay involved in productive after-school activities with adult mentors
About LISC
LISC combines corporate, government and philanthropic resources to help nonprofit community development corporations revitalize distressed neighborhoods. Since 1980, LISC has raised more than $9 billion to build or rehab more than 244,000 affordable homes and develop 36 million square feet of retail, community and educational space nationwide. LISC support has leveraged nearly $28 billion in total development activity. For more information, visit www.lisc.org.
