Mount Laurel, New Jersey, Oct. 24, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NFL Alumni (NFLA) today announced a partnership with Higher Education & Learning Professional Consulting, Inc. (HELP) and the Shaping Careers with Officers and Relating Experiences (SCORE) program, whose mission is to improve community and law enforcement relations by building collaborative partnerships to enhance social connectivity and increase college and career preparation for youth and young adults. The partnership not only helps advance the NFL Alumni’s “Caring for Our Own” and “Caring for Kids” initiatives but will also seek to leverage opportunities provided by the National Football League’s Inspire Change platform and grant opportunities through the National Football League Foundation (NFL Foundation) in communities that host the NFL Alumni’s 36 regional chapters and in the home towns of the NFL Alumni’s membership.
“We were looking for an opportunity for our membership to take part in the NFL’s Inspire Change platform in addressing social justice issues, especially in the 36 communities that we have alumni chapters”, says NFL Alumni President Bart Oates. “Through this partnership with HELP and SCORE, we feel that we have created the opportunity for the NFLA to join in the movement in a meaningful way.”
"We are excited to support the NFL’s Inspire Change platform and build out our successful program that can be modeled and provide data towards best practices,” said HELP President and CEO and SCORE Executive Director Dr. Edward L. Tarlton. “We feel that the SCORE Program addresses an important need.”
As part of the NFL Foundation’s social justice matching grants to players and Legends, HELP – a federally recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit organization – received funding and teamed up with 32 former NFL players, local law enforcement and community leaders to provide the SCORE Program to high school varsity football teams. These communities were selected by the player partners to help student-athletes reach their full academic potential, address social justice issues and build trust with local law enforcement. Through the partnership, HELP and SCORE will develop and implement educational intervention programs in local communities that will include the NFL Alumni and its former cheerleader members, schools, law enforcement departments, youth development programs and community business leaders in an effort to highlight the broader awareness and importance of college and career readiness, social justice and community – police relations.
Dr. Tarlton states that, “The lessons learned this summer and the data gathered among the students and law enforcement officers were invaluable to the development of this partnership with the NFL Alumni and frames our goals for the future.”
The SCORE Program established its first partnership with the NFL Alumni Dallas Chapter this summer led by Dallas Alumni Chapter President Liffort Hobley. Within the Dallas Metroplex area, SCORE held workshops in Arlington, Dallas and Fort Worth attended by NFL Alumni players, along with officers from the Dallas, Fort Worth and Arlington Police Departments and high school students from each of the school districts.
“I’ve seen the SCORE Program at work first-hand and have witnessed the impact it had on youth participants, law enforcement and former NFL Players alike,” said NFL Alumni Dallas Chapter President Liffort Hobley. In fact, one of the youth participants at the Arlington SCORE workshop told me that “the activities and information discussed during the workshop not only had the ability to change his life but could also keep him safe.”
Partnering with NFL Alumni to bring the SCORE Program to communities across the country will allow the NFL Alumni and HELP to positively impact the landscape while giving each NFLA chapter an opportunity to cultivate sustainable relationships, increase fan affinity, foster sponsorship opportunities, impact the NFL pipeline, support ongoing youth initiatives and promote higher education and social justice as the pathway to not only play in the NFL but to also be productive citizens in the community where youth live, learn and work.
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About NFL Alumni
NFL Alumni was founded in 1967 and is the oldest and most recognizable national organization of retired professional athletes. NFL Alumni consists of former NFL players, coaches, executives, spouses, cheerleaders, and associate members. NFL Alumni’s mission “Caring for our Own” is to serve, assist and inform its members and their families. NFL Alumni offers a wide array of medical, financial and business programs to help members lead healthy, productive and successful lives. NFL Alumni also promotes the post-playing careers of its members and it also contributes to local community initiatives under its “Caring for Kids” programs.
For more information please visit www.nflalumni.org.
About Higher Education & Learning Professional Consulting, Inc. (HELP):
HELP is a federally recognized 501c3 non-profit, founded in 2011, whose mission is to help students get “to and through” high school, college and graduate school and on to careers. To accomplish the mission, HELP partners with youth serving organizations, faith-based institutions, businesses, community leaders, and secondary and postsecondary institutions to enhance college and career readiness levels enabling students to become productive members of society where they live and work.
For more information please visit www.helpconsulting.org.
About The SCORE Program
The SCORE (Shaping Careers with Officers and Relating Experiences) Program was designed by the non-profit Higher Education & Learning Professional Consulting, Inc. (HELP) specifically to address the need for intentional programming in support of the NFL Inspire Change initiative and the NFL Foundation’s Social Justice Grant Matching Program. SCORE’s mission is to improve community – law enforcement relations by building collaborative partnerships to enhance social connectivity and increase college and career preparation for youth and young adults.
For more information please visit www.thescoreprogram.com.