Live United: Santana Moss

National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

Washington Redskins wide receiver Santana Moss lives united by dedicating time to enriching the lives of children and families through education, health and sports initiatives. In 2002, he founded the Santana Moss Foundation Inc. to help strengthen and improve disadvantaged communities in South Florida and the Washington Metropolitan Area. Over the past eight years, 9,600 children and their parents attended the annual Community Fair in Miami, FL at no cost to the participants. Besides carnival rides and games, the event included a celebrity softball game with the Miami police department and a Kid’s Day at the Movies. This event encourages students to attend school everyday and strive for their dreams. Santana also publishes a football-themed comic book to encourage students to read more, work together and strive for a higher education. For the past several years, this has been solely funded by Santana and over 10,000 books have been printed and distributed in the Miami area. In conjunction with the Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation, Santana participates in the 1st Down for Fitness program, which teaches kids how to eat right and stay physically active. Over the summer, approximately 300 children signed up for Santana’s youth football camp to help youth become well-rounded student-athletes while teaching them fundamental football skills.

“As a child, I always wanted to be a part of something like this. I told myself that I would make sure I could bring these types of opportunities to my community.”

For 35 years, United Way and the National Football League and its teams have been working together to help strengthen America’s communities. Today, the NFL and United Way are leveraging resources and relationships to raise awareness about the importance of youth health and fitness and create opportunities for kids to live healthier lifestyles. It’s part of United Way’s 10-year goal to increase by one third the number of youth who are healthy and avoid risky behavior. United Way is proud to partner with the NFL and we incite you to join us. You can help support youth fitness by volunteering your time, lending your voice or contributing to youth fitness programs.

Source: LiveUnited.org, Photo: United Way