FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contacts:
Kelley Martin | kelley@greensportsalliance.org
Jessica Crawford | jessica@greensportsalliance.org

 Green Sports Alliance 10-year Anniversary Summit to Be Rescheduled

 March 25, 2020: Portland, OR ? Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Green Sports Alliance (Alliance) is postponing its 10-year anniversary Summit for a later date, to be determined.

?The health and well-being of our members, partners, staff, and all those within our community are of the utmost priority to us,? said Roger McClendon, Executive Director of the Green Sports Alliance. ?As a result, we?ve made the decision to reschedule our Summit in an effort to keep our attendees, hosts, and regional partners safe. The shutdown of the sports industry has been difficult for everyone, and we hope that by moving our event, we can better support our industry and the greater sports greening movement. Our thoughts are with all of those impacted during these challenging times.?

2020 marks the Alliance?s 10-year anniversary and the Summit will reflect on the past and set new standards of excellence in the sports and sustainability movement for the decade to come. The theme of the Summit, Game On! The Future of Sports and Sustainability, will feature new ideas, solutions, and successes of the movement and will engage leaders from the national and global sustainability community. It will also highlight the role sports has in helping us come together again safely after a worldwide crisis.

The Summit host city of Minneapolis is committed to environmental health, social equity, and balancing present concerns and future generations? needs. With a vibrant community of people and businesses, the Alliance is pleased to bring the 10-year Anniversary Summit to the region.

In addition to engaging programming, keynote speakers, and networking opportunities, the Summit will feature a trade show highlighting industry-relevant products, services, and innovations. NatureWorks, a long-time partner of the Alliance, will support the Summit as a title sponsor.

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About the Green Sports Alliance Summit
The Green Sports Alliance Summit is the most influential convening of key stakeholders from around the sporting world for the purpose of sharing best practices, inspiring positive change, and improving the communities where we live and play. To learn more about the Summit and view program updates, visit greensportsalliance.org/summit

About Green Sports Alliance
The Green Sports Alliance leverages the cultural and market influence of sports to promote healthy, sustainable communities where people live and play. The Alliance inspires professional sports leagues, sports governing bodies, colleges, teams, venues, their partners and millions of fans to embrace renewable energy, healthy food, recycling, water efficiency, safer chemicals and other environmentally preferable practices. Alliance members now number over 400 organizations and fans representing 17 leagues in 16 countries. Visit greensportsalliance.org for more information.

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By GreenSportsBlog

GreenSportsBlog, like everyone else, is feeling our way around this new, fast-evolving, perilous, coronavirus world.

GSB will post any stories we find from the new intersection of Green, Sports, and Coronavirus, as was the case with our two most recent efforts. We will do our best not to force the issue.

And we will also go live with some posts that do not mention coronavirus at all. That is the case today.

Our thought here is that the Green-Sports world needs to move forward, even through this unprecedented time. The climate crisis, the plastic ocean waste issue, and other serious environmental issues, while impacted in some ways by the coronavirus, are certainly not waiting for the pandemic to end.

So, neither will we.

On to today?s post about nonprofit Oceanic Global and its work with sports venues to reduce plastic ocean waste. It was largely written before the coronavirus outbreak took hold in the U.S. We look forward to a time, hopefully in the not-too-distant future, when sports has safely restarted and Oceanic Global has resumed its important work with the industry.

In the meantime, stay socially distant and safe.

Innovative nonprofit Oceanic Global engages new audiences in ocean conservation. They tap into universal passions like sports and music to raise awareness about issues impacting our oceans and to provide individual and industry solutions that drive positive change.

Program Director Cassia Patel took GreenSportsBlog through its unique approaches that are designed to help the sports world with its single-use plastic waste problems.

I went into my conversation with Cassia Patel of Oceanic Global with a bit of healthy skepticism.

After all, there are a number of organizations working with the sports industry on plastic waste. What can Oceanic Global bring to the table that?s different and compelling?

Quite a bit, it turns out.

OCEANIC GLOBAL HELPS SPORTS VENUES WITH SINGLE-USE PLASTIC REDUCTION (SUPR)

?An important part of our work is our industry solutions program, The Oceanic Standard, Patel said. ?It is a set of free, industry-specific, research-backed guides as well as a badge verification system we created to help businesses adopt sustainable operating practices that meet both business and environmental needs. We drive scalable behavioral change towards responsible consumption to protect and restore the health of our ocean, our planet, and humanity.?

Cassia Patel (Photo credit: Cassia Patel)

Hospitality, the music industry and corporate office spaces are three of the sectors for which Oceanic Global has developed guides. Professional sports is a high profile and relatively new industry for the nonprofit, which is deploying its single-use plastic reduction ? or SUPR ? pledge initiative.

SUPR is a collaboration between Oceanic Global and NEXUS, the latter being an organization ? made up of young philanthropists, entrepreneurs and investors ? committed to accelerating progress on a number of urgent issues, climate change and ocean waste chief among them.

?One of our Board Members, James Sternlicht who is also a NEXUS member was speaking at their annual summit about our work with The Oceanic Standard program and in the room were a few sport stadium owners,? Patel recalled. ?One of the NEXUS members and stadium owners, Clark Seydel of the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena, asked James if our program?s infrastructure could be applied to stadiums and that is where SUPR was born. We are now in the process of approaching the 65 teams and venues NEXUS has access to at the ownership level about SUPR.?

The SUPR team began meeting with senior venue executives in the spring of 2019. They gained strong interest from several, including Scott Jenkins, General Manager of Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United; Mike Dohnert, VP of Operations for the New York Mets at Citi Field and Sissy Burkhard, Manager of Cleaning Services at PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Mike Dohnert, director of operations of the New York Mets at Citi Field (Photo credit: New York Mets)

Accenture provided pro bono support to SUPR and has been instrumental in building a business case for large-scale venues to reduce their single-use plastic consumption and improve waste management practices. They use hard data to demonstrate with hard data how SUPR?s benefits can exceed its costs.

Working with its partners, Oceanic Global sweats the details when it conducts a sports venue?s SUPR assessment or audit.

?We look at a sports venue?s entire procurement process and existing waste management infrastructure in extreme detail,? shared Patel, who foreshadowed her current career when she led a campaign to eliminate plastic water bottles while in sixth grade in Hong Kong. ?We work with their food service ware providers and/or procurement teams to assess what front of house and back of house single-use plastic items they are order, look at the costs per item, and we provide sustainable alternatives that are price comparable. Ultimately, we come up with a ?plastic footprint? metric for them ? quantifying the number of single-use plastic items diverted from the waste stream.?

Getting buy-in from food service providers on SUPR has been crucial to its success. The big players in the industry ? Aramark, Centerplate and Levy ? are all supportive of the mission, bringing operations managers, concession stand workers and more into the fold.

The SUPR team is implementing the program at four U.S. sports venues thus far: Atlanta?s LEED Platinum-certified Mercedes-Benz Stadium; State Farm Arena, home of the NBA?s Atlanta Hawks; Fiserv Forum, the new LEED-certified home of the NBA?s Milwaukee Bucks and Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins and site of last month?s Super Bowl LIV. Patel expects case studies from these venues should become available in the next 12 months.

SUPR made its presence felt in South Florida in the run-up to the Big Game.

?We went down to Miami to launch the SUPR movement the week before the Super Bowl,? Patel related. ?NEXUS, Oceanic Global, and Accenture hosted a multi-sport Owners Roundtable. Over 30 U.S. sports team owners or their representatives were in attendance, along with Roger McClendon, Executive Director of the Green Sports Alliance, an important SUPR supporter. Hard Rock Stadium?s VP of operations Sam Coghill shared their journey towards a plastic-free Super Bowl. There was a terrific energy and response at the roundtable, with several new venues expressing interest in SUPR.?

The SUPR team plans to spread the SUPR word via similar, high level get togethers at upcoming mega-sports events once the sports world ramps up post-coronavirus, including at the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship in Miami in January.

SUPER GROWTH PROJECTED FOR SUPR AMONG LEAGUES, FANS

Per Patel, the immediate next step is to publish SUPR case studies: ?Our goal, over the next year, is to publish two SUPR case studies in each of the major team sports in the U.S. Once we have those, we expect SUPR adoption to grow exponentially. Executives at league offices have demonstrated strong early interest. Case studies will turn their interest into action.?

SUPR is not only the preserve of team owners and food service executives.

Fans can get involved, too. Accenture played an instrumental role in building SUPR?s fan engagement program, which launched during Super Bowl week.

The centerpiece is the pledgeSUPR.com website, where fans are invited to take the SUPRfan pledge to reduce their single use plastic usage. There is plenty of room for improvement: For example, 51 million plastic cups are used at sports events annually. Fans are encouraged to reach out to their favorite teams and athletes via social media to urge them to get involved.

For the record, I tweeted New York Jets All Pro safety Jamal Adams, asking him to step up to support SUPR.

During Super Bowl week, Oceanic Global ran a SUPR social media campaign, spread the word at a variety of fan fests while handing out reusable cutlery, and live tweeted during the game. ?We generated 23,000 SUPR-related impressions on Twitter during the game,? reported Patel. ?Instagram also saw more than 9,000 impressions.?

On Super Bowl Sunday, Zeina Lamah and Jennifer Gold (both of Accenture) flanked Cassia Patel at the fan fest on Miami Beach. The trio spread awareness of the plastic-free initiatives taking place at Hard Rock Stadium and distributed reusable cutlery sets to facilitate eco-friendly tailgating practices (Photo credit: Pieter Melotte/Accenture)

Accenture also launched an educational augmented reality (AR) experience for fans prior to Super Bowl Week. It puts them in the middle of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to learn more about the human and environmental health concerns posed by plastic pollution. The hope is this program, now live on Instagram, will spur grassroots behavioral change.

The next steps, whenever the sports world?s coronavirus hiatus comes to an end, are to:

1. Bring SUPR messaging to fans more directly, via public service announcements on scoreboards and TVs, in-stadium signage and in the tailgate areas.
2. Tally and make public the overall SUPR scorecard, highlighting the number of teams and fans who?ve signed the pledge, and, most importantly, the amount of single-use plastics reduced at participating stadiums and arenas.

As SUPR becomes the rule rather than the exception at venues throughout the U.S., Patel believes that sports will be turning an important environmental corner.

?It is clear that shifting consumption away from single-use plastics will have significant environmental benefits on land and in the oceans as well as for human health,? Patel asserted. ?That is why we are pursuing a new sports industry standard for responsible consumption through SUPR.?

Read the full article here.

The post Oceanic Global Helps Sports Venues Reduce Single-Use Plastics appeared first on Green Sports Alliance.

By Holly Secon, GreenBiz

Photo credit: Aramark

You may not immediately recognize the name Aramark, but you?ve probably been in a facility where the company operates, maybe eaten the food it provides or even worn some of its clothes.

The Philadelphia-based company, which posted revenue of $16.2 billion for fiscal 2019, is one of the largest facility service providers in the world ? providing food and uniforms to everywhere from Chicago’s public school district to Denver’s Red Rocks Parks and Amphitheater to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

With so many products, services, employees and customers as part of its business model, embedding sustainability throughout Aramark is no small task. But it has become a growing focus of the multinational in recent years.

That shift is not just about changing consumer trends, Kathy Cacciola, Aramark?s vice president of enterprise sustainability, told GreenBiz. It’s also about making Aramark a healthy and safe place where people can feel good about working.

“What we know is if we’re taking care of the well-being of our employees, our consumers, community members and people in our supply chain ? those four constituency groups ? then we are in a position to then take care of the planet,” Cacciola said.

It might seem somewhat surprising to prioritize “well-being” as the first pillar of “sustainability,” but Cacciola explained that the point of sustainable operations for the company is about making sure a holistic approach is institutional.

“I like to say that sustainability is not just me. It’s not just about Kathy,” she added. “It’s not one person. It’s about the 270,000 employees that we have as a company driving the plan forward.”

“Whether it’s employees practicing safe food handling practices or creating an environment that is supportive of diverse and inclusive perspectives, it’s each of those daily practices that our employees engage in, that?s part of how we really bring our sustainability plan to life,” she said.

?Do well, be well?

The company’s sustainability plan was refreshed in December under this slogan: “Be Well. Do Well.”

The strategy has two priorities, built to align around the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: people (which includes concerns such as employee engagement, local community support, consumer health and inclusive sourcing) and planet (focused on efficient operations and cutting food waste, packaging and emissions).

Some examples of where Aramark already has made progress: It has moved to offer more vegan and vegetarian options, as well as certified sustainable seafood.

Cacciola described the process of replacing its food options with healthier and more sustainable options ? a move as much about identifying a better supply chain as engaging employees.

“We don’t necessarily want to try to ensure that our thousands of frontline team members each can identify a key trade and what is not a key trade, for example,” she said. “But rather, we make changes at the enterprise level and ensure that we transition all of our, for example, cage-free shell and cage-free liquid eggs to that version so that our team members have the responsibility for purchasing the approved product.”

It’s a part of the responsible sourcing initiative that the company has implemented.

The sustainability plan is not just food, Cacciola said. “We really designed it to ensure that it connects with the different service offerings that we have and across, also, all of our lines of business, whether it’s higher education, health care, sports and entertainment, business, dining, so on and so forth,” she added.

The company also has worked on sustainability efforts around waste and transportation.

It has a food loss and prevention strategy that has reduced more than 15 million pounds of waste since 2015. The company also has introduced some hybrid electric vehicles and route optimization software into its fleet strategy.

Holistic, whole company

How do you get sustainability to stick? Cacciola said that Aramark is working on a dual strategy.

“We make the changes from resourcing perspectives at the center, and then they get cascaded to the field,” she said. “It really helps with uptake and implementation and, also, again, naturally meets both our environmental and social objectives at the same time that we’re meeting our business objectives of purchasing from our approved suppliers.”

And that includes the literal field. “We see a heightened level of interest in hyper-local sourcing,” Cacciola added. Using local suppliers and incentivizing suppliers to implement sustainable practices means working across the supply chain, starting from inside Aramark’s offices.

Of course, it?s still a journey, she acknowledged. “We’re really proud of the progress that we’ve made, but like every company, we’re on a journey of continuous improvement,” she said.

Aramark has faced criticism in the past for featuring unhealthy food with high-climate impacts on its menus. In October, 23 state representatives with support from the National Resources Defence Council (NRCD) sent the foodservice giant an open letter, calling on it to reduce the climate footprint of its menus.

“Their call also comes amidst growing climate protests led by young people across the country and the world demanding stronger action on climate change,” Sujatha Bergen, director of health campaigns for the health and food division of NRDC, wrote of the representatives? letter. “Many of these protesters attend high schools and colleges where food is provided by Aramark.”

Bending the trend of business towards sustainability is not just a trend ? it?s critical to continue to do business in the current environment.

Read the full article here.

The post Why Aramark’s new sustainability strategy focuses on ‘well-being’ over sustainability appeared first on Green Sports Alliance.

By Portland Timbers & Portland Thorns

The Portland Timbers and Thorns FC have announced today a number of community initiatives to assist staff members and individuals in our area affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among the immediate initiatives undertaken by the Timbers and Thorns FC to assist our community include:

• Peregrine Sports has created and funded a Stand Together Assistance Fund to help part-time staff get through this uncertain time. This fund will assist fan experience staff and merchandise staff, among others, by paying them for games missed due to cancelation. Details of the fund will be communicated to affected staff next week.
• A monetary contribution to the Oregon Community Fund?s Oregon COVID-19 Pooled Fund.
• In partnership with Park Provisions, the donation of approximately 1,000 pounds of perishable food, bread, produce and other food items to Lift UP, a non-profit focused on reducing hunger for low-income residents of Northwest and Downtown Portland.
• Timber Joey to host virtual children?s reading sessions to homebound schoolkids every Tuesday and Thursday. The sessions will be aired on YouTube, the Stand Together Instagram Live feed and both clubs? Facebook pages.
• Delivery of gratitude packages to Providence healthcare workers.
• Staff and their families to write notes and greeting cards to seniors who receive Meals on Wheels, and to healthcare workers to show our appreciation of their selfless efforts.

To read Timbers and Thorns FC owner Merritt Paulson?s statement on COVID-19, please click here.

Through the Timbers? community outreach platform, Stand Together, the team is committed to furthering its community mission to harness the power of sport to improve the lives of children and families in the region through targeted programs, deep partnerships and philanthropic giving. For more on the Timbers community outreach programs and partners, visit www.timbers.com/stand-together.

Read the full article here.

The post Timbers, Thorns FC announce community initiatives in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic appeared first on Green Sports Alliance.

By Matthew Campelli, The Sustainability Report

The Sustainability Report Podcast Episode #12 ? The organisation?s SVP of ocean responsibility discusses setting clear sustainability targets, and making projects engaging for partners, fans and athletes

The post Reece Pacheco on World Surf League?s environmental leadership appeared first on Green Sports Alliance.

By NFL Communications

First phase of support and relief efforts will provide online learning tools for students in grades K-12, teachers and parents

The NFL and several of its charitable partners have made digital education and wellness resources available for free for teachers, parents and students across the country to utilize during this unprecedented time when alternate forms of learning are needed, it was announced today.

These resources provide additional opportunities to learn outside of school as millions of students across the country are displaced from their classrooms.

The NFL family is taking a first step to rally together to help those who need it most during this time and will be announcing additional relief efforts and financial support shortly. During this past season, the NFL asked our fans and communities to huddle together and give back as part of Huddle for 100. There is no more important time than now to continue this critical message.

“We know this is a difficult and uncertain time across our nation, including for millions of parents like me with young kids at home, looking to keep them active and educated. We want students, teachers and parents to know there are options for them at home,” said ANNA ISAACSON, Senior Vice President of Social Responsibility, NFL. “Alongside our partners, we’ve made a number of digital education resources available for anyone who may need them immediately when learning and teaching is extremely critical.”

As part of this first phase of support, outlined below are the resources the NFL and its partners have made available for free:

American Heart Association and Discovery Education ? NFL PLAY 60

• NFL PLAY 60 Virtual Field Trip ? To check out previous episodes visit https://aha-nflplay60.discoveryeducation.com/
  • The NFL PLAY 60 Virtual Field Trip is an all access pass to behind the scenes of Super Bowl LIV in Miami. Huddle Up and Get Moving with NFL players, cheerleaders, American Heart Association volunteers and students.
• NFL PLAY 60 App ? Available in the App Store or on Google Play
  • With the NFL PLAY 60 App take real steps to move in the game, explore your surroundings and collect characters to build your ultimate team for competition. See your rank on the leaderboard as you run, jump, dance, catch and see your players do the same.

• Family Activities ? simple ways to encourage daily physical activity to keep everyone healthy.

• Discovery Education Resources
  • To help schools and the communities they serve maintain continuity of learning in the event of prolonged school closures due to the Coronavirus, Discovery Education has created a three-pronged response. The elements of our response are as follows:
    • For U.S. schools or school systems that are not currently using Discovery Education resources, but are experiencing closures due to the Coronavirus, Discovery is offering free access to Discovery Education Experience through the remainder of the school year. To request access to Discovery Education Experience, principals and superintendents of affected school or school districts are encouraged to fill out the Experience Access Request form.
    • Discovery Education has created a special channel within Discovery Education Experience?the Viruses and Outbreak Channel?featuring digital content that helps educators discuss the Coronavirus outbreak with students. This content includes timely updates on what the Coronavirus is, information on how infectious diseases spread, and essential guidelines for staying healthy. Schools and school systems with access to Discovery Education Experience can find these resources here.
    • Discovery has worked with their content partners to make the Viruses and Outbreak Channel available to the communities our U.S. school systems serve so that parents, caregivers, and other adults have the same access to the materials children are being taught in schools. If you are a Discovery Education partner and are interested in obtaining a login for the Viruses and Outbreak Channel that you can send to members of your community, please fill out the Experience Access Request form.

Boys & Girls Clubs of America

• MyFuture
  • MyFuture (https://myfuture.net/) is BGCA’s mobile-friendly social platform with access to over 185 Boys & Girls Club program activities in areas such as STEM, leadership and the arts. With MyFuture, kids and teens can learn new skills, connect with their friends, and earn recognition and rewards in a safe and fun online environment. While anyone can access the 45-minute activities available, BGC Members can also earn digital badges and share their completed projects with the online MyFuture community. Currently, youth can earn badges in Digital Literacy Essentials, Media Making, Computer Science, Leadership, Visual Arts, Lyricism 101, Ultimate Journey, SMART Girls, Positive Club Climate and DIY STEM.
• YD Toolbox
  • The YDToolbox mobile app (https://ydtoolbox.goodbarber.app/) helps Youth Development Professionals, Educators and Caregivers provide quick and engaging learning experiences focused on supporting young people’s social and emotional development. These tools help caring adults to build communities with youth, spark meaningful conversations and maximize learning. Download the app for free on the Google Play or Apple stores by searching for “YDToolbox,” or access it on your computer at ydtoolbox.goodbarber.com. Once downloaded, click on Quick Tools for access to community builders, conversation starters, energizers and reflection questions.

Character Playbook ? United Way and EVERFI

• The NFL, in partnership with United Way Worldwide, is providing access to Character Playbook: Healthy Relationships & Mental Wellness Basics, two innovative digital learning experiences for middle and high school students to support remote learning. Visit http://www.characterplaybook.com/ to access the below courses.
• Powered by digital education leader EVERFI, Healthy Relationships uses evidence-based strategies to educate students on how to cultivate and maintain healthy relationships during these critical years.  The six-module course takes 2-3 hours to complete and meets National Health Education Standards (NHES), CASEL Social and Emotional Learning Competencies, and Common Core State Standards.
• Character Playbook: Mental Wellness Basics, is a digital program designed to help educators foster mental wellness in their classrooms and equip students with lifelong mental wellness skills.  Mental Wellness Basics is intended for high school students and is being made free for the time being. This course, also powered by EVERFI, meets National Health Education Standards (NHES) and State Academic Health Standards. The four-module course takes approximately one hour to complete, and covers topics including Mental Health Basics and Healthy Coping Skills. Tips for teen mental wellness are also available.

The Cooper Institute

• For teachers who are still delivering online instruction, our videos explaining aerobic capacity, muscular fitness, and body composition are always available on the FitnessGram site: https://fitnessgram.net/assessment/#el-b0f87cce
• The Cooper Institute has also compiled a playlist of videos from our library of Fit Tips to give students, parents and teachers fitness activities they can do at home. Visit the YouTube playlist here: http://bit.ly/2xDFuQ9
• For the latest in youth fitness news and helpful resources during this time, visit the FitnessGram website, https://fitnessgram.net/ and sign up for our youth newsletter for more information.

Fuel Up to Play 60 / America’s Dairy Farmers / GENYOUth

• At-Home Health and Wellness Resources:
  • Fuel Up to Play 60 has curated digital, at-home health and wellness content to deploy across its channels: www.FuelUptoPlay60.com, Fuel Up to Play 60 app and its national database of Fuel Up to Play 60 Program Advisors. These resources will help make tools to lead healthy lifestyles outside of the school building more accessible for students and teachers.

Youth Football & At-Home Coaching

• USA Football
  • Football Development Model 60 Ways to Play Guide: This guide is an interactive resource that uses basic exercises and programs to develop physical literacy. The exercises and games teach fundamental movement sills in an engaging manner, creating fun experience for participants.

• InSideOut Initiative
  • To provide a sense of ongoing community and connection with high school student-athletes, the InSideOut Initiative will push out bi-weekly messages to high school administrators and coaches that contain ideas, best practices and curriculum to stay connected and engaged with students.  Follow @ISOInitiative for more information.
  • Parents can visit https://insideoutinitiative.org/parentsplaybook/

    to learn how we can collectively help create a fun and enriching sports experience for high school student-athletes.

306: African-American History

• EVERFI and the NFL are providing 306: African-American History, a digital education program created by EVERFI that shares stories of African-American accomplishments in the arts, science, academia and sports, to high school students free for the time being. Visit www.EVERFI.com for access to the course.

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About the American Heart Association

The American Heart Association is a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives. We are dedicated to ensuring equitable health in all communities. Through collaboration with numerous organizations, and powered by millions of volunteers, we fund innovative research, advocate for the public’s health and share lifesaving resources. The Dallas-based organization has been a leading source of health information for nearly a century. Connect with us on heart.org, Facebook, Twitter or by calling 1-800-AHA-USA1.

About Boys & Girls Clubs of America

For more than 150 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA.org) has enabled young people most in need to achieve great futures as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Today, nearly 4,600 clubs serve 4.7 million young people annually through Club membership and community outreach.  Clubs are located in cities, towns, public housing and on Native lands throughout the country, and serve military families in BGCA-affiliated Youth Centers on U.S. military installations worldwide. They provide a safe place, caring adult members, fun, friendship and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis during critical non-school hours. Priority programs emphasize academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. In a Harris Survey of alumni, 54 percent said the Club saved their lives. National headquarters are located in Atlanta. Learn more at www.bgca.org or on Facebook and Twitter.

About the Cooper Institute

Established in 1970, The Cooper Institute is a nonprofit dedicated to promoting life-long health and wellness worldwide through research and education and advocacy. By improving public health, The Cooper Institute helps people lead better, longer lives now and Well. Into the Future. To learn more, visit CooperInstitute.org.

About EVERFI, Inc. 

EVERFI is an international technology company driving social change through education to address the most challenging issues affecting society ranging from financial wellness to prescription drug safety to workplace conduct and other critical topics. Founded in 2008, EVERFI is fueled by its Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) community engagement platform and has reached more than 30 million learners globally. Recognized as one of the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company, EVERFI powers community engagement in a sustained manner to empower individuals and organizations to make an impact within their communities.  The Company also convenes Networks to bring together financial institutions, colleges and universities, and some of the largest corporations to leverage insights and connections to drive impact. Some of America’s leading CEOs and venture capital firms are EVERFI investors including Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, Twitter founder Evan Williams, Advance, Rethink Education and Rethink Impact. To learn more about EVERFI visit everfi.com or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Twitter @EVERFI.

About Fuel Up to Play 60

Fuel Up to Play 60 is an in-school nutrition and physical activity program launched by National Football League (NFL) and National Dairy Council (NDC), which was founded by America’s dairy farmers, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Fuel Up to Play 60 is designed to engage and empower youth to take action for their own health by implementing long-term, positive changes for themselves and their schools. The program additionally encourages youth to consume nutrient-rich foods (low-fat and fat-free dairy, fruits, vegetables and whole grains) and achieve at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day. As a result of the program, 14 million students are making better food choices and 18 million are more physically active. Fuel Up to Play 60 is further supported by several health and nutrition organizations: Action for Healthy Kids, American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Association/Foundation, National Hispanic Medical Association, National Medical Association and School Nutrition Association. Visit FuelUpToPlay60.com to learn more.

About GENYOUth

GENYOUth is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that empowers students to create a healthier future for themselves and their peers by convening a network of private and public partners to raise funds for youth wellness initiatives that create healthier school communities. We believe that all students are change-agents who deserve the opportunity to identify and lead innovative solutions that positively impact nutrition, physical activity, and student success. GENYOUth’s flagship program, Fuel Up to Play 60, enrolls over 73,000 U.S. schools, reaching over 38 million students in nearly 10 years of operation. For more information about Grab and Go breakfast cart sponsorships or to make a donation to GENYOUth, visit www.genyouthnow.org or contact Eric Slutsky, Director of Integrated Communicatioent, 646-461-3056

About United Way

United Way fights for the health, education and financial stability of every person in every community. Supported by 2.9 million volunteers, 8.1 million donors worldwide and $4.8 billion raised every year, United Way is the world’s largest privately-funded nonprofit. We’re engaged in nearly 1,800 communities across more than 40 countries and territories worldwide to create sustainable solutions to the challenges facing our communities. United Way partners include global, national and local businesses, nonprofits, government, civic and faith-based organizations, along with educators, labor leaders, health providers, senior citizens, students and more. For more information about United Way, please visit UnitedWay.org. Follow us on Twitter: @UnitedWay and #LiveUnited.

About USA Football

USA Football designs and delivers premier educational, developmental and competitive programs to advance, unify and grow the sport. As the sport’s national governing body, member of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and organizer of the U.S. National Team for international competition, USA Football partners with leaders in medicine, child advocacy and athletics to support positive football experiences for youth, high school and other amateur players.  To learn more, visit www.usafootball.com.

Read the full article here.

The post NFL Huddles Up with Charitable Partners to Provide Free Educational Resources During COVID-19 School Closures appeared first on Green Sports Alliance.

By ESPN NBA

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Zion Williamson have joined other NBA stars in saying they will make donations to aid arena employees who will be unable to work while the NBA season is suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Antetokounmpo tweeted Friday that he will pledge $100,000 to Fiserv Forum staff.

After the season was suspended Wednesday night, the Bucks emailed Fiserv Forum employees and told them that if they were on the schedule for Thursday’s game between Milwaukee and Boston, those staff members still would be paid a guaranteed three-hour minimum because the game was canceled less than 24 hours before staff was expected to be at the arena.

The email also said “no one associated with the Arena has tested positive for COVID-19.”

Bucks senior vice president Alex Lasry tweeted that the team would match Antetokounmpo’s pledge.

Williamson posted to Instagram that he will cover the salaries of Smoothie King Center workers for the next 30 days.

Williamson, the 19-year-old No. 1 overall pick, wrote on his Instagram post: “The people of New Orleans have been incredibly welcoming and supportive since I was Drafted by the Pels last June, and some of the most special people I have met are those who work at Smoothie King Center. These are the folks who make our games possible.”

He went on to write about how many of those same people are still in recovery mode from Hurricane Katrina recovery in 2005.

Williamson said his mother, Sharonda Anderson, set an example for him and that’s why he’s covering the salaries.

He finished his post by writing: “This is an incredibly resilient city full of some of the most resilient people, but sometimes providing a little extra assistance can make things a little easier for the community.”

The Pelicans released a statement Friday thanking Williamson for his generosity and saying that while the situation is complicated given that the team does not own the arena, they are working on how they could help assist the staff.

As the No. 1 overall pick, Williamson is set to make $9.757 million this year as a part of his four-year, $44.2 million deal. He’s also picked up national endorsement deals with Jordan, Gatorade, Panini America, Mercedes-Benz, Fanatics, Beats, Mountain Dew and 2K Sports.

Detroit Pistons star Blake Griffin is also pledging $100,000 to help workers at Little Ceasars Arena, where the Pistons play their home games. He acknowledged the pledge on Twitter on Friday, saying he was following Kevin Love‘s lead.

The Cavaliers forward kicked off the recent string of pledges when he announced Thursday on Instagram that he would be donating $100,000 through the Kevin Love Fund to support Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse staff in Cleveland.

Love told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, “My hope is that others will step up!”

The Dallas Mavericks released a statement Friday saying they are making arrangements to “ensure that scheduled event staff will receive payment for the six home games that were to take place during the 30-day NBA hiatus.”

Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky donated $100,000 to part-time workers at the Panthers’ arena. The donation was matched by his teammates and ownership also made a pledge.

Ilitch Companies, the group that owns the NHL’s Detroit Red Wings and MLB’s Detroit Tigers, announced that it set up a $1 million fund to compensate part-time arena and event staff members for one month.

“Our sincere hope is that this provides comfort to our colleagues in this difficult time,” Ilitch Companies said in a statement. “When events resume, we look forward to our colleagues being safely back to work as normal.”

Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment co-managing partners Josh Harris and David Blitzer also said Friday they will pay all New Jersey Devils and Prudential Center part-time event and game-day employees the wages they would have earned for the remainder of the NHL season.

“We realize the suspension of our Devils games and concerts has created an unintended hardship for the men and women who provide for their families and believe our commitment to them in this unprecedented time is imperative,” Harris said.

“These are the folks that feel like family every time I step in the arena, so it’s natural to show our support,” Blitzer added.

The Pittsburgh Penguins also announced a plan to play full- and part-time arena and service employees, with funding coming from Penguins players, the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation and the Mario Lemieux Foundation.

Other teams that have said they either have a plan or are working on one during the hiatus include the Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, Toronto Raptors, Toronto Maple Leafs, Brooklyn Nets, Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks, Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals.

ESPN’s Eric Woodyard contributed reporting.

Read the full article here.

The post Giannis Antetokounmpo, Zion Williamson among stars aiding arena workers appeared first on Green Sports Alliance.

By WSAV3

For retired NFL athlete turned environmental advocate Ovie Mughelli, becoming concerned about the fate and health of the planet was a no-brainer.

?For me, it?s easy,? he told Georgia Southern University students on Tuesday at the Statesboro campus. ?My babies, my kids.?

The former Atlanta Falcons and Baltimore Ravens fullback was there to speak to the students as part of the university?s Sustainability Seminar Series.

The focus Tuesday evening was ?empowering the next generation through greening sports,? which has become Mughelli?s goal.

?It?s this mission of mine that I want to be a mission of yours,? he told the students.

During his time with the Falcons, the Charleston, South Carolina native began thinking about how the environment impacts everyone, especially his two infant children fighting for their lives in the NICU.

?I was at a point where I could pretty much do anything, except for the most important thing,? Mughelli shared with the audience. ?They couldn?t come out [of the hospital] because of the air quality in Atlanta at the time.?

Following that experience and learning more about the climate crisis, Mughelli says he dove into the environmental movement using his love of sports to reach others ? something he says hadn?t really been done by any other professional football athlete.

?I?m the first NFL player in the history of the game to have a focus in the environmental space and to have an environmental foundation,? he said.

?There are a lot of players who are passionate about a lot of things, people who love to get involved in the cancer movement, people who are involved in education, some are involved in homelessness, but for what reason would they skip over the environment, time and time again?? he asked.

Mughelli said it just came down to a lack of knowledge, but he?s been working to change that ?particularly with the younger generation.

?I realized that if you love sports, you?ve got to love the environment, the clean air and clean water necessary to play sports, and to play these games we love should make you want to fight for our planet,? Mughelli told WSAV.com NOW.

The motivational speaker told the students a little about the Ovie Mughelli Foundation, which he started with the goal of educating and empowering the next generation of green leaders.

Through the foundation, he says he?s working to diversify the green industry and give equal access to all the benefits green spaces provide.

?I did football camps in my hometown, and I?d have young kids who?d come up to me who knew nothing about anything on the environmental side,? Mughelli said.

?They didn?t know what a carbon footprint was, they didn?t really understand the concept of recycling, composting was a foreign concept to them and they definitely didn?t know anything about environmental justice,? he said.

?But they did know that their sister had asthma, they did know that they were always coughing and hacking and sneezing every time they left their apartment complex, they did know that there were no trees in the area they were in?urban food deserts and an urban heat zone,? he said. ?And they literally thought all this was normal.?

He noted that because these children came from low-income families in underserved areas, they couldn?t just pick up and move if a flood, hurricane or other natural disaster struck.

It?s why at these football camps, instead of football and life skills, Mughelli says he focused on football and environment skills, ?which really are life skills.?

One of the ways he?s aimed to reach children is through his comic book character, Gridiron Green.

?Kids love Gridiron Green,? Mughelli told WSAV.com NOW. ?It?s kind of like the kid in all of us. We all want to be Batman, Spiderman, Superman, we want to just feel like we can do anything, and we take that concept and put it into the environmental space and tell kids that, ?hey, you can do anything, you don?t need powers to be superheroes for the environment.??

The ultimate goal, Mughelli says, is to leave a legacy that will allow kids to have better futures and let them know that they can play a key role in saving the planet through learning about healthy environmental practices.

?My hope is that the students really understood that it?s bigger than just them, but more importantly, the next generation and their loved ones,? Mughelli said. ?It?s about understanding what?s going on with our environment so that when you know better, you can do better.?

Read the full article here.

The post Former NFL athlete talks to Georgia Southern students about sustainability in sports appeared first on Green Sports Alliance.

By Matthew Campelli, The Sustainability Report

Podcast Episode #10 ? The general manager of Atlanta?s Mercedes-Benz Stadium ? regarded as the most sustainable in the US ? discusses how sports venues can influence the behaviour of fans and sponsors

The post Green sports pioneer Scott Jenkins on engaging fans through sustainable innovation appeared first on Green Sports Alliance.

By Inside Sport

Far from just tinkering with the scenery, club SEA-changers are shaking up their world view.

The Sports Environment Alliance (SEA) is empowering Australian and New Zealand sport to do more for the world by using less, and they?ve got some big names backing the move.

Tennis Australia, Football Federation Australia, Richmond Football Club and the MCG are among those taking the message of sustainability to the pitches and courts.

But for every national organisation and iconic brand on board, you?ll find the likes of the Swamp Rats Cricket Club (SCC) – a small, rural outfit based on the WA south coast.

Swamp Rats spokesperson Stephen Grimmer told SEA: ?Regardless of size, all sports clubs and related entities have a role to play.

?Despite our club?s small size, we will assure our facilities and competitions are sustainable and are available to the lifestyle choices of future generations.

?The SCC will focus on improving our recycling practices at our iconic oval and club rooms, educating club and community members, and ensuring we promote the importance of sustainability across the sports sector in WA.?

Tennis Australia is a SEA member

Executive director Dr Sheila Nguyen has praised the ?bold ambition? of small clubs like Swamp Rats. She said while members of the alliance sign up to a universal set of principles set out under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), but it?s not about badgering clubs into change.

?We don?t say you?re not doing enough, we don?t shame them,? Dr Nguyen says. ?I don?t find that?s a good use of energy. We encourage them.

?For any issue, not just ours, whether it is accessibility or gender equity, it takes time. (Community) clubs are run primarily by volunteers ? people who are passionate about the sport whether it be parents or ex-players.  So they are time poor and this topic in particular is quite technical to some extent.

?So I?d say some clubs who are very supportive, whether that?s because someone has a professional link to this area or local councils are quite leading in this space and they will finance and support local initiatives. Otherwise clubs are not that well prepared but that?s not unique to community clubs that?s across sport as a whole.?

The movement started at the 1994 Lillehammer Games, and sister organisations in the UK and US ensure it continues to be a global conversation. The result is a myriad of actions as varied as the sports themselves.  The Australian Grand Prix has introduced the Green Prix focusing on clean-up days. The head office of Bowls Australia has gone paperless. Overseas, some sporting facilities have become the epicentre of climate action.

?A good example in Europe is the 148 Nissan Leaf batteries that have been put together as a mega battery at the Amsterdam Arena,? Dr Nguyen says.  ?The stadium is a charging station but they also store that energy to redistribute to their local communities. I think we?ll start seeing that more.

?Sport doesn?t realise how much potential it has, particularly in the area of water capture. If a community runs out of water, local sports clubs that have been hoarding water, might play a really important role.?

But as much as big facilities and mega projects grab headlines it?s at the grassroots where the real revolution needs to take place.

SEA holds events to educate clubs

?Community clubs can upcycle, recycle, they carpool – that?s a big issue now looking at transport emissions,? Nguyen adds. ?I?m sure that?s happening already but it?s about making is systemic and part of their culture.

?West Coast Eagles is definitely worth a look at. They have a campaign called Rethink Your Waste ? and community clubs can do this too ? they pick a game in the schedule and use that to encourage people to do something, whether that is to bring a reusable cup or something else.”

Other clubs have deployed bin goalies or ?waste warriors? to stand near bins and advise people how to divide up their recyclables.

?When people are like ?oh god, where does this thing go? and they will help you,? Dr Nguyen says. ?It?s about educating people so when they come back again they?ll know what to do.

?A football club in Darebin (under local government policy) got rid of the plastic cups for players and asked member families for donations of mugs. On football mornings you see all these people with various mugs different sizes and shapes. And they get the boys or girls, whoever?s playing, to wash up afterwards. It feels like you?re in someone?s living room. I love that because that?s sort of the point. Sport is about community.?

Read the full article here.

The post Sports Clubs Undergoing a Sea-Change appeared first on Green Sports Alliance.

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