NFLPA COMMUNITY MVP WELCOMES THREE NEW SUPPORTING PARTNERS
The NFL Players Association’s Community MVP program is proud to announce the addition of three new supporting partners: Aldine Sports Association, HEARTLENT Group and Wheels Up (NYSE:UP). By teaming up with these organizations for its eighth season, the NFLPA Community MVP campaign will broaden its charitable impact through various initiatives and activations throughout the year.
Every week during the regular season, the NFLPA will once again celebrate an active NFL player who has demonstrated a commitment to giving back to those in need. As Community MVP’s new creative partner, HEARTLENT Group will produce custom illustrations of the weekly winners, showcasing the program’s mission of highlighting players as “superheroes” in their hometowns and team cities. Drawing upon its strong portfolio of work with athletes, sports associations and leagues, HEARTLENT’s artists will package a limited-edition action figure that uniquely features how each weekly Community MVP positively impacted others.
Each of these illustrations will be transformed into customized Community MVP T-shirts and hoodies by the non-profit Aldine Sports Association and its “No Excuses” apparel line – both of which were founded by two-time Community MVP and NFLPA Executive Committee member Michael Thomas. In addition to the NFLPA donating $10,000 to each Community MVP’s foundation of choice, a portion of all apparel proceeds will also be donated to the player’s designated charity.
As part of a broader partnership between the NFLPA and Wheels Up, which was announced in July, the leading brand in private aviation will also be donating to the Community MVP program. For every core membership sold in connection with this partnership, Wheels Up is donating $1,000 toward the program’s charitable funds.
The 2021 NFLPA Community MVP campaign will begin Friday, September 10 with the announcement of the Week 1 winner and culminate on January 7 with the Week 18 honoree. From the pool of 18 NFLPA Community MVP winners, a distinguished panel of judges from the media, labor and non-profit industries will select five finalists for the prestigious NFLPA Alan Page Community (APC) Award. Each of them will receive an additional $10,000 from the union for their foundation or charity of choice. From those five finalists, the active NFL player membership will vote for the APC Award winner, which is the highest honor that the NFLPA can bestow upon a player. The union will announce the winner and present him with an additional $100,000 donation during its annual Super Bowl press conference.
The Community MVP campaign is part of the NFLPA’s continued efforts to support the year-round, civic outreach and engagement of its player members. Please visit the NFLPA Community MVP website to learn more about the program.
2020 NFLPA Community MVP winners*:
Week 0: Kevin Byard, Tennessee Titans
Week 1: Cam Heyward, Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 2: Rodney McLeod, Philadelphia Eagles
Week 3: Landon Collins, Washington Football Team
Week 4: Oren Burks, Green Bay Packers
Week 5: Harrison Phillips, Buffalo Bills
Week 6: Derrick Brown, Carolina Panthers
Week 7: Shawn Williams, Cincinnati Bengals
Week 8: Corey Clement, Philadelphia Eagles
Week 9: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs
Week 10: Arik Armstead, San Francisco 49ers
Week 11: Malcom Butler, Tennessee Titans
Week 12: Geno Atkins, Cincinnati Bengals
Week 13: Hayden Hurst, Atlanta Falcons
Week 14: Brandon McManus, Denver Broncos
Week 15: Brandon Copeland, New England Patriots
Week 16: Charles Leno Jr., Chicago Bears
Week 17: Isaac Rochell, Los Angeles Chargers
*Denotes player’s team at the time he received the honor
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About the NFL Players Association:
The National Football League Players Association is the union for professional football players in the National Football League. Established in 1956, the NFLPA has a long history of assuring proper recognition and representation of players’ interests. The NFLPA has shown that it will do whatever is necessary to assure that the rights of players are protected—including ceasing to be a union, if necessary, as it did in 1989. In 1993, the NFLPA again was officially recognized as the union representing the players and negotiated a landmark Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NFL. The current CBA will govern the sport through the 2030 season. Learn more at www.nflpa.com.
About Aldine Sports Association:
Founded by NFL player Michael Thomas, Aldine Sports Association is a youth sports organization that focuses on community, education and athletics. ASA was created by a group of young men who grew up in the Aldine community. Thomas, along with childhood friends Everett Green, Kevin Glenn and Willie Holmes, attended school in the Aldine Independent School District. Patrick James, Thomas’ mentor, has been an educator in Aldine for 15 years and also is an Aldine product. ASA was established and created by locals out of Aldine, for the youth of Aldine, with the hope of creating dreams, opportunities and productivity for the community of Aldine.
About HEARTLENT Group:
HEARTLENT Group is a digital and social strategy + creative content collective specializing in exceptional storytelling that stands out in today’s digital world. The collective is built from years of sports marketing and creative experience on the professional league, team, and agency sides. With offices in New York, Los Angeles, Denver, and Connecticut, HEARTLENT Group is focused on the core areas of digital content, animation and illustration, marketing strategy, social campaigns, and video production including broadcast commercials, industrial videos, web and social videos, and motion graphics. Uniquely, HEARTLENT Group collaborates directly with athletes to create innovative content and intellectual property to fuel their brand while maximizing impactful opportunities for revenue-generating sponsorships. For more information, go to www.heartlent.com.
About Wheels Up:
Wheels Up Experience Inc. ("Wheels Up"), a leading demand generator in private aviation, offers a total private aviation solution that includes world-class safety, service, and flexibility through on-demand flights, membership programs, corporate solutions, aircraft management, whole aircraft sales, and commercial travel benefits through a strategic partnership with Delta Air Lines. Wheels Up is uniquely positioned to offer its Customers and Members access to over 1,500 safety-vetted and verified aircraft.
Through the Wheels Up App anyone can search, book, and fly. Wheels Up Connect, Core, and Business memberships provide enhancements such as flight sharing, empty-leg Hot Flights, Shuttle Flights, Shared Flights, signature Wheels Down events, and exclusive member benefits from preeminent lifestyle brands. The Company's ongoing Wheels Up Cares program aligns with philanthropic organizations and initiatives that affect and matter to the Company and its customers, members, stakeholders, families, and friends. The Wheels Up Cares fleet is comprised of five custom painted Beechcraft King Air 350i aircraft; each plane serves as a flying symbol for a specific cause.
All Wheels Up flights are operated by the Company's DOT/FAA-authorized air carrier subsidiaries (Wheels Up Private Jets LLC, Gama Aviation LLC, Mountain Aviation LLC, Sterling Aviation LLC, and TWC Aviation LLC) or by an approved vendor air carrier that has undergone a comprehensive safety assessment.