Drew Brees and the Super Service Challenge awarded $1,000,000 to New Orleans charities!
Congratulations to our $25,000 winners:
Second Harvest Food Bank served by Agnus Dei Homeschool Association
National Alliance on Mental Illness served by Akrom, Inc.
Ronald McDonald House Charities served by Cintas
Team Gleason served by Junior Achievement
St. Paul’s Homecoming Center served by St. Paul’s Episcopal School
Congratulations to our $20,000 winners:
Society of St. Vincent de Paul served by Academy of the Sacred Heart
Second Harvest Food Bank served by Archdiocese of New Orleans Young Adult Ministry
New Orleans Ballet Association served by Chevron
Second Harvest Food Bank served by Rotary of Metarie
New Orleans Musicians Clinic served by Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro
Society of St. Vincent de Paul served by St. Stephen Church
St. Paul’s Homecoming Center served by St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church
Operation Homefront Louisiana served by Sterne, Agee & Leach, Inc.
Cafe Reconcile served by The Ritz Carlton
Joey’s House For Hungry Children/Fuel The Future served by William Carey School of Nursing Class of 2013
NFL Commercials from the news with a twist, WGNO-TV, ABC 26
Louisiana Children's Museum
Amidst the Super Bowl festivities, the Louisiana Children’s Museum unveiled Places to Play in New Orleans, an early childhood initiative that explores the role of play in developing lifelong healthy habits, and demonstrates the role the Louisiana Children’s Museum plays in shaping the community.
Present at the announcement was Julia Bland, executive director of Louisiana Children’s Museum; Karen DeSalvo, commissioner of New Orleans Health Department; Laverne Saulny from Senator Landrieu’s office; and, David Krishock, president of Imagination Playground.
At the forefront of the campaign is the Places to Play in New Orleans book featuring illustrations and narrations by four-year-olds from four local nursery schools and child care centers. With attention to detail and creativity, the young authors take readers into their whimsical world as they explore the role of play in their daily lives. Illustrations included local parks, backyards and school playgrounds. The book gives voice to the children and what matters most to them, builds confidence and draws focus to the importance of childhood play.
“Active engagement of young children is the beginning of a lifelong quest for health and wellness,” said Julia Bland, executive director of the Louisiana Children’s Museum. “Places to Play will call attention to that priority through the narration and illustration of young children.”
By taking-on the problem of obesity within a generation, Places to Play is in alignment with the missions of NFL’s Play60, Fit NOLA and Let’s Move!
“Creative, active play is essential for the physical, social and cognitive development for all our children,” said Dr. Karen DeSalvo, City of New Orleans health commissioner, in a letter included in the Places to Play in New Orleans book. “By showcasing the role of play in their daily lives, the Places to Play book is a terrific example of why play is so important and the actions that all of us can take to make sure children are able to actively play every day.”
The message comes full circle by pairing play education with access to safe, creative play spaces. As part of the campaign, the Louisiana Children’s Museum announced it will install an Imagination Playground, a transformative play system using large blue foam building blocks, demonstrating the playground that will be installed at the Louisiana.
The Louisiana Children’s Museum, located at 420 Julia Street in New Orleans, is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. and Sundays from noon – 4:30 p.m. Access to the Museum and the Imagination Playground is open to the public with admission, $8 per person and free for Museum members. For more information and a calendar of events, visit www.lcm.org or call (504) 523-1357.
Related Programming / Media Opportunities
During the week of the Super Bowl, the Louisiana Children’s Museum will present three media events in conjunction with “Places to Play in New Orleans.”
Champions on the Move
Tuesday, January 29 – Friday, February 1 • 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.
Louisiana Children’s Museum, 420 Julia St.
$8/per person, free for museum members
The Museum will lead physical fitness challenges and Let’s Move Museum activities throughout the week. Visitors will learn how to stay active and healthy while having fun. Programming will include daily Story Time readings of Family Huddle written by Peyton, Eli and Archie Manning at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., and make-your-own Lombardi Trophy craft in Art Trek studio.
Imagination Playground at NFL’s Super Saturday of Service
Saturday, February 2 • 11 a.m.
Lyons Playground, Corner of Tchoupitoulas and Louisiana Avenue
Free and open to the public
In conjunction with Places to Play in New Orleans, the Louisiana Children’s Museum and Imagination Playground have donated a playground to the City of New Orleans. The Imagination Playground will be presented to Mayor Mitch Landrieu during the NFL’s Super Saturday of Service at Lyons Playground, where the equipment will be permanently installed. Following the unveiling, children from the Greater New Orleans area will be invited to play on the equipment and demonstrate its many uses.
For more information on the NFL’s Super Saturday of Service, visit www.neworleanssuperbowl.com/events/supersaturday.php
LSU Health Center and NFL
LSU Health Sciences Center’s Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center is the latest stop on a former NFL player’s visits to cancer research and treatment centers in the US. Chris Draft, President and CEO of the Chris Draft Family Foundation, will spend the morning of Thursday, January 31, 2013 with leaders and patients of the LSUHSC Scott Cancer Center and Interim LSU Public Hospital. The visit, hosted by Dr. Augusto Ochoa, Director of the LSUHSC Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center, wraps up with a tour of LSUHSC’s new research labs at the Louisiana Cancer Research Center facility and luncheon with LSUHSC cancer researchers and patients from 10:45 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
After a 12-year career in the NFL where he played linebacker for the Chicago Bears, San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, St. Louis Rams, Buffalo Bills, and Washington Redskins, Chris Draft, President, and CEO of the Chris Draft Family Foundation, founded a very different team. Team Draft was created by Chris and his wife Keasha during Keasha’s year-long struggle with stage IV lung cancer which claimed her life in late 2011.
As a former Charlotte Hornets Honeybee dancer and member of Clemson University’s Rally Cat dance squad, Keasha was an energetic vibrant young woman who had never smoked when she was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer in December 2010. At the time, her only symptom was a slight shortness of breath. Despite the diagnosis and knowing the long odds they faced, Keasha and Chris decided to fight back. On November 27, 2011, standing side-by-side, they launched Team Draft at their wedding. One month later, Keasha lost her courageous fight and died at the age of 38.
According to the Chris Draft Family Foundation, Team Draft is dedicated to raising lung cancer awareness and increasing badly needed research funding by shattering the misconception that lung cancer is a “smoker’s disease.” The fact is anybody can get lung cancer. Yet, despite the fact that thousands of people who have never smoked—including Keasha—are diagnosed with lung cancer in the United States each year, Team Draft says the smoking stigma negatively impacts lung cancer research funding, which pales in comparison to funding for other major cancers and diseases. Team Draft is out to change all that by using the unique platform available to Draft as a former NFL player and nationally recognized community leader and health advocate to lead a national campaign to change the face of lung cancer—a campaign that has, to date, taken Team Draft to more than 50 of the top cancer treatment and research centers in North America.
The research that led the EPA to designate second-hand smoke as a Class A carcinogen was conducted by Dr. Elizabeth “Terry” Fontham right here at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans. Now Dean of the LSUHSC School of Public Health and Associate Director of the LSUHSC Stanley S. Scott Cancer Center, Dr. Fontham conducted a landmark study of women who had never smoked yet died of lung cancer through second-hand exposure to cigarette smoke.
Saints awarded
The New Orleans Saints will receive a $5 million check from Louisiana for hosting the Super Bowl as a result of a deal between the Black and Gold and the state. The deal was negotiated in 2009 in order to keep the Saints in New Orleans until 2025, awarding the Saints $5 million every time the Super Bowl is in New Orleans. The $5 million payment is in addition to another $6 million in current state subsidies to support the Super Bowl Host Committee’s operations before and during the game.
Home Builders and Retired NFL Stars Celebrate Completion of Three New Lower 9th Ward Homes in Time for Super Bowl
On Friday, February 1 at 2:30 p.m., just fifty-one days after breaking ground in the Lower 9th Ward, participating builders, former NFL players and community supporters will cross the goal line and celebrate a job well done on the completion of three new affordable homes. The new homes, located in the 5400 block of N. Rocheblave Street (corner of Andry Street), are part of Phase One of the Touchdown for Homes-Louisiana’s long-term goal to help revitalize the Lower 9 community.
Touchdown for Homes is a nationwide charitable outreach program of the National Association of Home Builders and the NFLPA that works to strengthen communities by building or renovating homes for children or families in need, and veterans. The New Orleans project is a collaboration between the Louisiana Home Builders Association (LHBA), the Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans (HBAGNO), the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), and members of the New Orleans Chapter of the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA). The local home builders and former NFL players worked with the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA) to secure deeds to the available land.
“These first three homes are just the beginning,” said Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans Executive Vice President, Jon Luther. “Our plans and our commitment extend well into the future. With the help of our generous local and national sponsors, and our numerous community partners, we are committed to revitalizing this community, so that everyone who chooses to live here can proudly call it home.”
Early projections for the project as it moves forward include light commercial space which would feature an open-air market, retail space, as well as an Early Childhood Development Center. Touchdown for Homes has also earmarked forty lots, which they plan to develop into similar residential spaces in the coming years.
"These three new homes represent another important step in the redevelopment of the Lower Ninth Ward and we are pleased to have partnered with the Homebuilders and the NFL Players Association in making these properties available for local residents," said New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA) Chairman, Jim Singleton. "The revitalization of the Lower Ninth Ward remains a high priority for NORA. We look forward to continuing our partnership on similar projects in the future.”
The completion of the first three homes was a sprint to the goal line, in order to be ready in time for the 2013 Super Bowl. The highly affordable, energy efficient homes are being built using funds from a HBIDRF (Home Building Industry Disaster Relief Fund) grant with many of the raw materials donated by community partners such as Lowe’s, Sherwin Williams and Southland Plumbing Supply & Lighting. The homes will be made available first to families displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Potential homeowners are currently being vetted by Neighborhood Housing Services, which teaches lessons in responsible home ownership and financial planning.
“Touchdown for Homes will make it possible for many of our longtime residents to return to homes that are affordable, energy efficient, properly elevated and safe,” said District E Councilman James A. Gray II. “As these neighborhoods grow, commercial development will follow—grocery stores, retail outlets and more. We thank all of the groups involved in this project for their participation in the revitalization of one of our most historic and vital neighborhoods.”
The homes are certified to the National Green Building Standard, which has stringent efficiency requirements for water and energy consumption, use of land and space and other features. They are also be certified via Entergy New Orleans’ Energy Smart Program, which helps Entergy New Orleans electric customers save energy and save money through energy assessments and valuable cash rebates on energy efficiency improvements. The homes are outfitted with remote climate-control technology that will greatly reduce homeowners’ utility costs.
“As most of our Chapter members are native New Orleanians, we want to see our city thrive, and we work through our voluntary efforts and community partnerships to ensure that happens,” says Norm Hodgins, former Chicago Bear, and president of the New Orleans Chapter of the National Football League Players Association. “Our relationship with NAHB, LHBA, & HBAGNO has produced a strong desire to create something for our community that will utilize the energy of the Super Bowl as the ‘first play’ but continue well beyond the ‘echo of the last whistle.’ With more than a quarter of all NFL players in the history of the game hailing from the great state of Louisiana, we relish the opportunity to give back to the communities that gave so much to us.”
The ribbon-cutting festivities will feature a generously donated raw bar from the Gulf Oyster Industry Council, catering by New Orleans favorite, Lil Dizzy’s Café, refreshments from the NOLA Brewing Company, and a student band from the Dr. Martin Luther King Charter School in the Lower 9th Ward who will provide entertainment. Former and current NFL Players are scheduled to attend, along with builders, representatives from the offices of U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu and District E City Councilman, James A. Gray II, as well as members of the Lower 9th Ward community and others who have supported this project from its inception.
For more information, visit: www.latouchdownforhomes.com or call 1-877-387-0826.
