Contact:
Chris Widmaier/Beth Colleton/Roxanna Perez
National Football League
(212) 450-2000

September 10, 1998 – NFL Youth Education Towns (YET) across the country are back to school. Since 1993, the NFL has developed facilities in six Super Bowl cities -- Atlanta, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, Phoenix, and San Diego. The goal of the centers is to provide educational and recreational programs for children.

The YET centers recently finished their summer programs. In Los Angeles and Phoenix, more than 600 summer campers attended.

With the opening of the school year, the centers expect hundreds of students at each YET to attend their day and after-school programs, where they will attend tutorial classes and participate in enrichment programs which include arts and crafts, physical fitness, and career development classes.

The Atlanta YET recently opened and executive director Edith Love is excited about the NFL’s commitment. "We’re so pleased about all of the YET centers. It is so important to reach out to today’s youth and give them other alternatives," she says. "Aside from academics, the Atlanta YET is designed to give the children the opportunity to learn through cultural programs which teach them about their own and others’ heritages. We also run science programs where they learn about nature and archeology."

The Atlanta YET also will team with Kraft Foods this fall in an academic challenge which will be a quiz show where students answer questions on subjects ranging from social studies to sports. Kraft Foods will provide refreshments and prizes. This summer the Los Angeles YET worked with a local child care center called New Beginnings Academy. The academy students, along with those of the YET center, enrolled in the Summer Computer Training Program held at the center and took a business-style computer graphics course. Each student was responsible for creating a portfolio of projects that included business cards, invitations, letterhead, and flyers.

The LA YET also will participate in the NFL Punt Pass, & Kick program. Nearly 60 children already have registered.

San Diego Youth & Community Services (SDYCS) has formed a partnership with the NFL in developing the newest YET center. The San Diego YET is set to open in mid-October and promises to continue the NFL’s mission of improving the academic and physical fitness skills of today’s youth.

"Families in the San Diego area recognize the importance of caring for today’s children, especially in the areas of education and the choices they make for leisure time," says Kipra Heermann, SDYCS/NFL YET executive director. "The NFL has recognized this and responded with a unique vision to calls for leadership on this issue. We are grateful for this opportunity – and we are challenged by this partnership with the NFL."

While the New Orleans YET is in final developmental stages, Miami and Phoenix have built state-of-the art facilities and register over 800 students each year for their after school programs. Both centers are equipped with large classrooms, computer centers, and physical fitness areas and regulation football fields.

The Los Angeles center located in Compton, was the first opened and was prompted by the disturbances in LA in 1992. Since then, NFL owners have joined together to create an annual $1 million NFL Charities grant funded through Super Bowl event proceeds towards the development of educational recreational centers for at-risk youth in each of the Super Bowl cities.