St. John Francis Regis School Awarded $50,000 NFL Grassroots Grant

KANSAS CITY, MO (June 27, 2008) – The St. John Francis Regis Church and School will soon be enjoying football games and special events from a much improved football field. Thanks to a $50,000 grant from the Kansas City Chiefs and Greater Kansas City LISC, the existing field will benefit from re-grading and re-seeding of the surface, a new irrigation system, fencing, a concession area upgrade, and a new scoreboard.

The St. Regis field is an important gathering space for the community and serves more than simply the students and families of the St. Regis School. It is used by neighboring schools for athletic training and games, and by organizations like the Knights of Columbus and the Girls Scouts and Boy Scouts for special events.

“We are grateful to the Kansas City Chiefs and LISC and are excited about the opportunities this grant will provide for our school children and the hundreds of other children throughout our community who use our athletic field throughout the year,” said Father Tom Holder, Pastor of St. John Francis Regis Parish. “We have many dedicated parents who have worked hard to procure the grant and raise the matching funds to ensure our children can participate in high-quality programs,” he added.

With the St. Regis grant, over $900,000 has been awarded to seven local groups in the Kansas City metro-area through the NFL Grassroots Program since 1999. “The Kansas City Chiefs sincerely believe that youth athletics and specifically youth football are essential to the healthy growth and development of young student-athletes,” said Chiefs President Carl Peterson.

“These fields are a critical part of our efforts to create sustainable communities – places where people want to live, work and raise families,” said Julie Porter, Greater Kansas City LISC Executive Director. “Through the NFL Grassroots Program we are not only creating places for young people to compete in football and other sports, we’re also making countless neighborhoods better and stronger.”

Click here to download an NFL Youth Football Fund Grassroots Program Summary (PDF, 73 KB)

For information on the NFL Grassroots Program in

the Kansas City area, contact Damon Broadus .