On Monday (9/26), the Baltimore Ravens will host their first PLAY 60 Festival to kick off the year-round efforts of the national NFL PLAY 60 campaign. The program is designed to encourage children to be active for at least 60 minutes per day in order to help reverse the trend of childhood obesity.
Over 300 children from various Baltimore City after-school programs, including Living Classrooms and EBLO (Education-Based Latino Outreach), will be led through football drills and activities under the instruction of USA Football Master Trainer Tom LaNeve and Playworks Maryland. Members of the Ravens' 2016 rookie class, including DT Willie Henry, WR Chris Moore, C Matt Skura and T Ronnie Stanley, will join Ravens cheerleaders and mascot Poe in helping launch this year's program.
The festival will kick off the 2016 Ravens PLAY 60 Challenge, created in partnership with the American Heart Association, which encourages local students to be physically active for at least 60 minutes every day over a four-week, incentive-based period. During the program, in-classroom tracking materials and individual student guides will be distributed to help students record their physical activity. By reaching specified benchmarks, students will be rewarded with prizes and a chance to be honored at the 2017 Ravens PLAY 60 game. Top performers from participating schools will also be invited to attend a prize luncheon held at M&T Bank Stadium in the spring of 2017.
In addition to individual student awards, the best performing schools will be recognized with a Ravens PLAY 60 assembly in November, featuring Ravens players, cheerleaders and mascot Poe.
Prior to the Ravens vs. Raiders (Oct. 2) Week 4 PLAY 60 game, 11 area youth will be invited to take part in a special pre-game ceremony at M&T Bank Stadium. The students will be recognized on the field as Ravens PLAY 60 ambassadors for their commitment to practicing healthy habits, exercising daily and for stepping up in their schools to help lead fellow students in the challenge.
For the seventh-consecutive year, the Ravens will partner with the Carroll County School District to execute the PLAY 60 Challenge through Project ACES (Active Children Excel in School), a program whose mission and goals align directly with the NFL PLAY 60 campaign. The PLAY 60 Challenge/Project ACES* *program will reach 26 elementary schools and impact over 12,000 students throughout Carroll County. Additionally, the Ravens will once again partner with the Baltimore County school system to offer the PLAY 60 program to all elementary and middle school students.
In 2015, the Ravens PLAY 60 initiatives impacted more than 14,000 youth throughout greater Baltimore.
Ravens PLAY 60 Festival
Who: Members of the Ravens' 2016 rookie class
What: Ravens PLAY 60 Festival
When: Monday, Sept. 26 4 – 6 p.m.
Where:Patterson Park Utz Twardowicz Field
200 S Linwood Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21224
