NFL Play 60 Talks About Getting Active, Doing Good and Setting Lofty Goals

Since the launch of our new platform YourMatch, many of our clients have experienced renewed energy for their volunteer initiatives, whether they are for employees or for external audiences. This means more good people connecting with more good causes, creating more impact to make our world even better.

In this series, we’re talking with some VolunteerMatch clients who are using YourMatch in innovative ways to get people involved in their communities.

Interview with Chidozie Ibeabuchi, Coordinator, Fan Strategy and Marketing Department, and Jacque Skowvron, Manager, Fan Strategy and Marketing Department at the National Football League.

Please describe your program for us.

NFL PLAY 60 is the NFL’s commitment to the health and wellness of the next generation. It’s a campaign that encourages youth to get active for at least 60 minutes a day. By partnering with the nation’s leading nonprofit and for-profit partners, NFL PLAY 60 has formed a multi-year platform, engaging partners, fans, communities and players through a variety of in-school and extracurricular activity programs.

What are the goals of this program?

NFL PLAY 60′s main goal is to make sure that kids everywhere know that they should be getting at least 60 minutes of activity every day. By raising awareness of this movement and developing many different programs and platforms to support kids enjoying physical activity, we hope to help reverse the childhood obesity trend and make this next generation of kids the most active and healthy ever.

How is VolunteerMatch helping you reach those goals?

VolunteerMatch has been instrumental in increasing the awareness of the multitude of ways to get involved with NFL PLAY 60. We are able to highlight a variety of volunteer opportunities that we offer within local communities including our NFL Punt, Pass, and Kick Competitions and NFL Flag Leagues. It has also allowed us to raise awareness for other youth health and wellness volunteer opportunities in local communities that are helping to get kids moving.

Thoughts on the new YourMatch?

Very user-friendly. It allows people to easily categorize volunteer opportunities around them and track the amount of hours they log. It is also very engaging, as people are able to receive and customize alerts on different volunteer events and provide feedback to their peers.

What has been the impact of the program to date?

NFL PLAY 60 has become the social cause that NFL fans most associate with the NFL – awareness is high and continues to grow each year as more communities and schools embrace the campaign’s programs and NFL corporate sponsor partners and nonprofit partners align with the campaign.

Since NFL PLAY 60′s launch in 2007, the NFL and its clubs have built more than 150 Youth Fitness Zones and committed more than $250 million to youth health and fitness through programming, grants and media time for public service announcements.

In 2012, the NFL and its teams held more than 2,000 PLAY 60 events and currently, NFL PLAY 60 programs are in over 73,000 schools and reach over 38 million kids per year.

Wow! What goals and hopes do you have for the future of the program?

As the PLAY 60 campaign continues to evolve, we hope to continue to raise the awareness of this message and ultimately reverse the trend of childhood obesity by 2015. Our goal is for youth across the country to know the importance of getting 60 minutes of activity every day and that the adults in their lives have the tools they need to help make this possible.

By using VolunteerMatch, we hope to inspire more people to join the movement and help us fight this issue facing our country.

Read more articles on volunteering and corporate social responsibility at VolunteeringISCSR.org.