The National Football League Foundation announced today a donation of more than 1,000 pieces of equipment, including helmets and shoulder pads, to the Oklahoma Elite Football League based in Moore, Okla. The league lost its storage facility and equipment as a result of the tornados that devastated the area in May.
The donation by the NFL Foundation replaced helmets, shoulder pads and tackling dummies. The Oklahoma Elite Football League is one of the more than 2,700 youth football leagues across the country that is participating in USA Football's Heads Up Football initiative.
Charlotte Jones Anderson, chairman of the NFL Foundation and executive vice president of the Dallas Cowboys, visited the Moore Pirates' practice on Monday. During the practice, Anderson met with coaches, players and parents while watching the Pirates and other Oklahoma Elite Football League teams practice Heads Up Football tackling techniques.
Former NFL players and Heads Up Football Ambassadors Kenny Blair and Roy Williams joined Anderson at the practice. Blair serves as the Ambassador for the Oklahoma Elite Football League Oklahoma City Wildcats and Williams is the Ambassador for the Moore Pirates.
"The community of Moore has shown great resiliency following the tornados," said Anderson. "Sports have a unique way of helping communities to heal following tragedy, and we hope that by supporting the local youth football league we can help to provide a source of pride and normalcy."
The Oklahoma Elite Football League has more than 40 teams and 750 players ages 6-11.
"We are incredibly grateful for the NFL Foundation's donation to our league," said Charles Thompson, Oklahoma Elite Youth Football League president. "Our children and their families lost so much. With the donation we are able to get the children back on the field to play the game they love."
-- NFL Communications
