Eagles Launch Campaign To Combat Gun Violence In Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Eagles are partnering with the city and community groups to try to curb the historic levels of gun violence in Philadelphia. They've launched the End Philly Gun Violence campaign.
The Eagles Social Justice Fund will contribute $316,000 in grants to 32 area nonprofits. They've chosen groups with a long-standing history of fighting the gun violence crisis at the community level.
Eagles players began thinking about the initiative when the team returned to training camp after noticing rising homicide rates.
"Obviously, Philadelphia is where we play but it's where we live, it's where we work, it's our home. Even though we're focused on the day-to-day aspects of football, we're aware of what's happening in the broader community. The conversation just started right there about how we could be part of the solution," Eagles President Don Smolenski said.
Players on the council include Shaun Bradley, Dallas Goedert, Brandon Graham, Anthony Harris, Jordan Howard, Avonte Maddox, Rodney McLeod, Miles Sanders, and K'Von Wallace.
"Ever since I arrived in Philadelphia as a free agent in 2016, this has been my home," McLeod said in a release. "It hurts to see so much heartache and suffering in our communities as a result of these senseless acts of violence. We are losing family members, friends, mentors, role models, and future leaders because of the gun violence in our streets. No one should ever have to live in fear of going to school, hanging out at the playground, or just walking out the front door. Yet, for so many in our communities, they do. It's been a privilege to work with city leaders and organizations during this process who are just as committed to ending gun violence as we are."
The committee chose to support nonprofits that specialize in certain issues that address gun violence. The nonprofits receiving grants specialize in the areas of poverty, mentoring, education equality/reform, workforce development, ending gun violence, criminal justice reform, mental health, community/police relations, sports-based youth development, education/college access, support of Black-owned businesses, and formerly incarcerated women.
Below is a breakdown of the amount of funding each specialized nonprofit will receive:
- Poverty: $65,000
- Mentoring: $41,600
- Educational Equality/Reform: $40,000
- Workforce Development: $40,000
- Ending Gun Violnce: $30,000
- Criminal Justice Reform: $20,000
- Mental Health: $20,000
- Community/Police Relations: $15,000
- Sports-Based Youth Development: $15,000
- Education/Collge Access $10,000
- Support of Black-Owned Businesses $10,000
- Support Of Formerly Incarcerated Women: $10,000
"I am inspired by our players for the way they have leveraged the Eagles Social Justice Fund this year to address one of our city's most concerning issues – gun violence," Jeffrey Lurie, the Eagles' Chairman & CEO said in a statement. "I stand with them in their efforts and am grateful for those who have joined us in helping to create safer, more equitable communities for all Philadelphians to live in peacefully."
In addition to the grant funding, the Eagles and the city of Philadelphia created EndPhillyGunViolence.com, a resource website designed to steer young people to proven and effective help.
The Eagles Social Justice fund was formed in 2018 to provide grants to organizations that work to reduce barriers to equal opportunity, with a specific focus on education, community-police relations, and improving the criminal justice system. The social justice fund has provided organizations in the area with more than $1.6 million in funding since it was formed.
Below is a list of every non-profit that got funding:
- ACHIEVEability: $15,000
- Chester Community Coalition: $15,000
- Education Law Center Center: $15,000
- ManUpPHL: $15,000
- Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence: $10,600
- 100 Black Men Philadelphia Chapter: $10,000
- Community Legal Services: $10,000
- Drexel University Center For Nonviolence and Social Justice: $10,000
- Face to Face: $10,000
- FathersRead365: $10,000
- Frontline Dads Inc.: $10,000
- Girls on the Run Philadelphia: $10,000
- MezFit: $10,000
- New Leash on Life USA: $10,000
- Pennsylvania Innocence Project: $10,000
- Philadelphia Auto and Parole, Inc: $10,000
- Philadelphia Futures: $10,000
- Philadelphia Youth Network: $10,000
- Police Athletic League of Philadelphia: $10,000
- Sankofa Healing Studio: $10,000
- Steppingstone Scholars: $10,000
- Summer Search Philadelphia: $10,000
- The Anthony Harris Foundation Inc.: $10,000
- United Way of Delaware: $10,000
- University of Pennsylvania Netter Center for Community Partnerships: $10,000
- Why Not Prosper: $10,000
- Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project: $10,000
- Youth Service Inc.: $10,000
- Change Our Future Foundation: $5,000
- Philadelphia Youth Football Academy: $5,000
- Strawberry Mansion Area Renaissance Trust Corpertation: $5,000
- Motivating Young Moms: $1,000
