NEW YORK—Cities bid hard to host the Super Bowl every year because of the economic benefits the most popular football event in the country brings with it.
Riding on the Super Bowl hype, the NFL and the Super Bowl Host Committee held a charity drive in which children from over 40 schools could donate gently used items.
Sports equipment, school supplies, and cellphones were brought in by the armful Thursday and placed into large boxes that lined a gym in Riverbank State Park.
When asked where these donations were headed, a second-grader from PS 452 explained, “To kids who can’t afford it and who want to play sports and stuff.”
The NFL has been hosting this drive, called “Super Kids—Super Sharing” since 2000. They do it in every community that hosts the Super Bowl, a win-win for their reputation and for the communities that host the game.
The drive is meant to provide the resources for underserved children to succeed, whether it is in sports or academics.
Kevin Boothe, the representative Giants player at the event said having the chance to play sports has taught him some valuable life lessons.
“You learn a lot of patience, you learn a lot of teamwork and real character building during those times,” he said of his training as a football player.
Jets player Jaiquawn Jarrett, who also attended the event, said football kept him out of trouble as a kid. But, he cautions, academics should come before sports.
Jack Groh, the Environmental Program Director at the NFL estimates the event generated just under 10,000 items, with about 60 percent of those being books.
“The Super Kids event started 14 years ago as a way to reach out to kids and teach them an important lesson about resource management,” he said.
The takeaway message, he said, is that one person’s trash can be another person’s treasure.
Friends Read Free