NEW YORK—Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced on Oct. 10 that a host of initiatives for youth will be launched in New York and New Jersey in connection with New York hosting the Super Bowl in 2014.
The National Football League (NFL) and the New York and New Jersey Super Bowl Host Committee will grant $2 million to the Snowflake Foundation. Five projects funded by the foundation are already underway, with hopes for 25 to 40 more to follow. According to Bloomberg, the Snowflake Foundation received close to $5 million in other commitments.
“All of those projects will provide city kids with new, healthy, positive community resources, many of them in areas hit hard by the Hurricane Sandy,” Bloomberg said.
The projects awarded so far amount to about $1.2 million. They include new playgrounds, gyms, and football fields in all five boroughs.
This month, the Host Committee and the NFL will join the Million Trees NYC program to plant over 25,000 trees at Rockaway Community Park in Queens. Super Bowl organizers said tree plantings will happen in each of the five boroughs.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, owner of the New York Jets Robert Johnson, co-owner of the New York Giants Jonathan Tisch, and the Super Bowl Host Committee President Al Kelly were present for the announcement.
The Snowflake Youth Foundation is a charity created by the Super Bowl Host Committee to raise funds to renovate and transform after-school facilities in New York and New Jersey.
Super Bowl XLVIII will be hosted at the MetLife Stadium on Feb. 2, 2014.
Projects
- Renovation of Mahoney Playground, Staten Island
- Renovation of gym and teen center at Educational Alliance Boys and Girls Club, Manhattan
- New gym at Hammel Community Center, Rockaway Beach
- New football field at Boys and Girls High School, Brooklyn
- New football field at Kips Bay Boys and Girls Club, Bronx
- New playground, part of The Sandy Ground project, Rockaway
