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Pat participated in events to benefit the Al Harris Outreach Program and the Donald Driver Foundation
- Pat also served as a mentor while in college to a young man named Jamon, 11, as part of a program called “Project Uplift”, similar to Big Brothers Big Sisters.
NFL Grassroots
The Green Bay Packers are excited to give schools and neighborhood non-profit organizations in Green Bay, La Crosse, Manitowoc, Milwaukee, Racine, and Sheboygan the opportunity to apply for an NFL Grassroots grant.
The NFL Youth Football Fund Grassroots Program is a partnership of the National Football League Youth Football Fund (NFL YFF) and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) to provide non-profit, neighborhood-based organizations, middle schools and high schools with financing and technical assistance to improve the quality, safety, and accessibility of local football fields.
Parks and ball fields can serve as tremendous community assets because they offer opportunities for recreation, education, and relaxation that contribute to the local quality of life, especially for young people. Since 1998, the Fields Program has awarded $28 million in grants for 225 projects with total development costs of $90 million in over 50 cities across the United States. Grants are announced and awarded annually in the early winter.
The NFL and LISC issue a Request For Proposals (RFP), or an open invitation to all qualified non-profit organizations in NFL markets to submit proposals for funding. LISC reviews the proposals, requests additional information where necessary, and makes site visits to the finalist organizations. Then LISC recommends to the NFL which organizations have the capacity, plans, and partners to renovate their local football fields and to attract increased youth football programming to the site. The Board of Directors of the NFL Youth Football Fund makes the final funding decisions.
Once the NFL chooses the award recipients, LISC works with local NFL teams and the award recipients to make press announcements and handle media events. LISC then manages the flow of funding, making sure that projects move forward on a timely schedule. The proposal and review processes are designed to make sure that the capital improvements to renovate older fields and establish new football fields will have a stream of maintenance funds and the community support needed to sustain the use of the fields over the long term.
Fit Kids
The United States is facing a potentially devastating public health crisis of overweight and obese citizens. More than twice as many children are overweight now than three decades ago. The problem with being overweight is more than just physical; it affects the whole child. In response, the Green Bay Packers are proud to present Fit Kids, an exciting program that is being offered to all fourth grade classrooms throughout the state of Wisconsin. The Fit Kids program is designed to tackle obesity through the instruction of teachers, with assistance from Green Bay Packers players.
Fit Kids is a FREE year-long fourth grade curriculum designed to promote healthy living by focusing on the physical, nutritional and social aspects of good health. Each month, a new topic is explored, including: Get Together, Get Out, Get Fueled, Get Cooking, Get Moving, Get Bendy, Get Happy and Get Fit. Green Bay Packers players kick off each new section with a video encompassing the theme for that month, in addition to appearing on various program posters.
Fit Kids was developed in 2004 by several educators in the Green Bay Area Public School District, with support from the Green Bay Packers, CBS 5 WFRV-TV and the Karma Group. Several other districts adopted the program for the 2005-06 school year, and in 2006-07, the program rolled out statewide. Currently in its seventh year, the program has been adopted by over 315 public school districts in the state, with thousands of students receiving the benefit of the successful curriculum. Within these districts, the program has been incorporated by fourth-grade classroom teachers, physical education teachers and school nurses, and integrated into their lessons as they chose.
- Teacher's manual that includes an academic year's worth of lesson plans, student activities and worksheets
- DVD featuring nine different Green Bay Packers players introducing the general program as well as the specific topics to be covered in each of the major sections
- Set of posters featuring each of the players involved in the program
For more information, or to enroll in the Fit Kids program, please contact your district representative.
For other questions and concerns, please contact Jessie Micke, Community Outreach Coordinator, at mickej@packers.com.