Minnesota Host Committee Matches Grant for Total of More than $5.5 Million
NFL and Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee Executives Presented 52nd and Final Grant of 52 Weeks of Giving Campaign to Anwatin Middle School
The Super Bowl leaves an impact long after the final whistle. As it does each year, the NFL seeks to improve the surrounding communities of the Super Bowl host city with a financial donation and community engagement. This year, the NFL Foundation provided a $1 million grant to the Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee’s Legacy Fund to support charitable projects and health and wellness programs throughout the greater Minnesota community. The Minnesota Host Committee matched the grant for a total of more than $5.5 million invested in communities across Minnesota.
NFL Commissioner ROGER GOODELL, Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee CEO MAUREEN BAUSCH, Minnesota Governor MARK DAYTON, U.S. Senator AMY KLOBUCHAR and Minnesota Vikings owner LENNY WILF gathered to recognize the recipients of this year’s Super Bowl Legacy Program Grants at Anwatin Middle School. As the final grant recipient in the Super Bowl Host Committee’s 52 Weeks of Giving Campaign, Anwatin Middle School received a $220,000 grant encompassing this year’s strategic areas of giving: fun, fuels and fundamentals.
The grant will help Anwatin upgrade its athletic field to support flag football and other sports and recreation activities and establish an indigenous garden at the school. Anwatin Middle School students also participated in a flag football clinic led by Minnesota Vikings Legend EJ HENDERSON and received Character Playbook, the NFL and United Way’s digital character education program powered by digital learning innovator EverFi, that helps middle school students learn how to cultivate and maintain healthy relationships.
“The Super Bowl represents much more than just the game. Each year, the NFL makes lasting changes in the communities of the Super Bowl host region,” said NFL Commissioner ROGER GOODELL. “The Super Bowl Legacy Grant Program enables us to help address the specific needs in this area and leave an impact the league and the community can be proud of long after the game is over. We are honored to work with the Host Committee to improve the health and wellness of Minnesota’s children.”
A list of Super Bowl Legacy Grant recipients and the projects being funded by the NFL Foundation’s $1 million grant contribution is as follows:
| Organization Name | City | Super Bowl Legacy Grant Fund Projects |
| Alexandria Area Young Mens Christian Association | Alexandria | The funding from this grant is to support the acquisition of bikes with trailers, reflective vests, and helmets to be utilized at the adjoined Central Lakes Trail promoting fun gross motor activity. |
| Appetite for Change | Minneapolis | The grant is issued to support Appetite for Change’s social enterprise programs which is a holistic approach to lack of access to food, jobs and social connectedness. |
| Bemidji Community Food Shelf | Bemidji | This grant is provided to support The Van for Bemidji Food Shelf project to increases their ability to procure and distribute food by giving them the funding to acquire a vehicle, which limits the liability associated with volunteers’ vehicles. |
| Best of Waseca, Inc., BEST of Waseca County | Waseca | Grant issued to support the project to rebuild the grandstand, locker rooms, and concession stand (damaged by flooding and an arson in 2016) into a facility that meets modern building codes and provides accessibility for the physically handicapped. |
| Blue Earth County | Mankato | Grant issued to support Blue Earth County which purchased and is operating two bike fleets in the Mankato area. |
| Bois Forte Reservation Tribal Council | Bois Forte | The grant is issued to build two half-court basketball courts, one on the Indian Point Beach parcel and another on the Lake Vermilion Reservation sector where there are limited recreational resources for the area’s youth. |
| Bolder Options | Minneapolis | Grant is issued to rebuild youth center kitchen and purchase van to support their wellness-based youth mentoring program for kids aged 10-14. |
| Boys & Girls Club of Central Minnesota | Saint Cloud | Grant issued to support the purchase of a colorful, eye catching Move Mobile trailer loaded with a variety of physical activity equipment and games for youth. |
| Boys and Girls Club of Detroit Lakes, Inc. | Detroit Lakes | Grant issued to replace the 23-year-old passenger van to ensure safe transportation to opportunities for our Club members each day, as well as to expand our impact to community members by purchasing a trailer and materials to create pop-up Club experiences at local parks as outreach. |
| Citizens for Backus Ab, Backus Community Center Pennies for Play Program | International Falls | The utilization of this grant is to fund the rebuilding of Green Acres Park’s main playground structure as it is outdated with missing and broken pieces that is in need of replacement. |
| City of Brooklyn Park, The Brooklyn Bridge Alliance for Youth | Brooklyn Park | Grant issued for the purchase of a 3rd vehicle that will catalyze and expand Teen focused Rec On the Go! (ROTG) services. |
| City of Duluth | Duluth | Grant issued to Lincoln Park’s Place to Play to restore two playscapes, open lawns, picnic areas and pavilions, restrooms, and an event and programming shelter at urban neighborhoods in Duluth, Minnesota. |
| City of Roseau | Roseau | The Legacy Fund grant is for Phase II construction of the South Riverview Park Project which includes the construction of a multi-purpose skate park, refurbishment of an existing basketball court and the site preparation for an outdoor ice rink. |
| City of Saint Paul, Saint Paul Parks and Recreation | Saint Paul | The grant is for the Sepak Takraw, or Kato (a Southeast Asian sport), project that includes building courts at two community centers in St. Paul. |
| City of Virginia | Virginia | Grant issued to support the modernization of the playground equipment in the Midway area of Virginia, MN – Focusing on updating equipment to comply with ADA standards, create more outdoor opportunities with walking/biking trails, sledding hill, lighting and covered shelter area. |
| Communitygiving | Willmar | Grant made to support the Willmar Destination Playground within the Robbins Island Park. |
| Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio, Inc. (CLUES) | Saint Paul | Grant issued to expand building to create a place-based community hub promoting health, education, and social and economic wellness for the neighborhood. |
| County of Anoka | Anoka | These funds will provide an opportunity for people of all abilities to experience the amenities that the parks have to offer by enabling the City to provide an inclusive environment providing accessible playground equipment designed especially for children with disabilities. |
| County of Rice, Rice County Public Health Nursing Service | Faribault | The grant is to help fund the recreation of a playground with appropriate precautions (lighting, durability, trash receptacles) to provide a safe play area in the Cannon River Mobile Home Park neighborhood. |
| Crow Wing County, Crow Wing Energized | Brainerd | The purpose of the requested grant is to fund a fleet of bicycles for the Brainerd/Baxter community, which will serve as an educational tool for Brainerd and Baxter elementary school’s students that bicycling can be a part of a healthy lifestyle, not just recreational. |
| Daytons Bluff Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc. | Saint Paul | This grant is giving the Rivoli Orchard an opportunity to impact the health and wellness of young people through actively getting youth to be involved in building/planting, managing and operating the orchard/green space. |
| Dream of Wild Health | Hugo | This grant was issued to develop the Teaching Kitchen to create opportunity for expanded nutrition and cooking training, technical certifications, and development of food products from our indigenous saved seeds, increasing revenue and internship employment opportunities with youth. |
| Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa | Cloquet | Grant issued to complete three community projects: expand the current walking path from the MNAW Clinic to the FDL Tribal/Community Center, improve the school and community gardens and update and re-open an outdoor skating rink at one of our community centers. |
| Frogtown Gardens, Frogtown Farm | Saint Paul | Grant issued for the construction an adaptable space to provide long-term storage for “mobile art kitchen” and “mobile pizza oven” for events and to encourages greater participation in the outdoor kitchen and education space provided by Frogtown Farm. |
| Goodhue County Health & Human Services (GCHHS) | Red Wing | Grant issued to help build a great place to play in the Pepin Woods Manufactured Home Community, via rebuilding the playground and adding a soccer field. |
| Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa | Grand Portage | The provided funds will aid in the project to replace the playground equipment as recommended by an IHS inspection in our Community Center/Charter School Playground as well as new ground surfacing material. |
| Independent School District #152 Moorhead Public Schools | Moorhead | Moorhead is committed to providing students with physical activity opportunities, and this grant will help fund the Imagination Playground sets to increase physical activity opportunities for all elementary students to be creative problem solvers. |
| Independent School District #256 | Red Wing | Grant issued to create a visible, friendly, accessible place in the Red Wing High School locker bay for all high school students (grades 8 through 12) to get breakfast before school and between classes throughout the morning. |
| Juxtaposition Arts | Minneapolis | The grant is issued to support the creation of the first ever skate park in North Minneapolis. |
| Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe | Cass Lake | Grant issued to support the mobile teaching kitchen that will be used throughout the Leech Lake Reservation to teach hands-on cooking skills and provide education regarding all aspects of food. |
| Lower Sioux Indian Community | Lower Sioux | Grant issued to support the health and wellness of the youth in the community by facilitating increased access to physical activity by upgrades the recreation center, and increased capacity to promote nutrition through the replacement of equipment. |
| Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe | Onamia | This grant will help fund the continuation of a 3-year project committed to supporting gardening in ways appropriate and to develop a relationship with the school to strengthen garden sustainability. |
| Nobles County, Nobles County Community Service-Public Health | Worthington | Worthington is a home to over 400 ethnic groups who gather at Buss field to watch adult and children leagues play, and this grant will provide additional support for a connector path to an existing trail or storage rooms for players. |
| Olmstead County Public Health Services | Rochester | Grant will help fund year-round physical activity opportunities in parks/neighborhoods, via a custom wrapped trailder filled with interactive games and equipment. |
| Peoples’ Center for Health | Minneapolis | Grant issued to assist the overall health and wellness of the community in south Minneapolis by improving the opportunities and access for physical activity. |
| Pillsbury United Communities | Minneapolis | The grant is issued to support the North Market Youth Wellness which will focus on food preparation and fitness classes for youth. |
| Polk County | Crookston | Grant made to provide nature-based play space (NPS) maintenance and expansion/integration (NPS features/trail and river connectivity) phases, offering amenities making health more equitable in the Crookston neighbors. |
| Prairie Island Community | Prairie Island | The grant is issued to build a sports-themed play area in the park near the Marshall High School practice area to meet several needs in the community. |
| Project Success | Minneapolis | Grant issued with the purpose to equip and staff the launch of the Project SUCCESS Institute – grant will fund new teaching kitchen and health and wellness PE credit recovery. |
| Red Lake Comprehensive Health Services | Red Lake | Grant issued to support the creation of four outdoor recreation areas in each of our four communities on the Red Lake Reservation. |
| Sanneh Foundation | Saint Paul | Grant issued to support the repair and upgrade to the Conway Community Center’s gym interior walls, playing surface, and gym divider. |
| Second Harvest Heartland | Greater Twin Cities | Grant issued to support the purchase of more trucks and trailers to distribute food to food pantries, meal programs and partner schools so that more children have access to food they require to lead healthy lives. |
| Second Harvest North Central Food Bank Inc | Grand Rapids | With this grant, Second Harvest purchased a 24′ refrigerated truck and deliver fresh produce to 8 Itasca County locations and up to 20 other hunger relief organizations every month, for approximately 1,000 individuals. |
| Southwest Health and Human Services | Marshall | The grant is issued to build a sports-themed play area in the park near the Marshall High School practice area to meet several needs in the community. |
| Special School District #1 | Minneapolis | Grant issued for the support of a second food truck with full cooking capabilities, which will improve the district’s ability to feed youth and expand our school meal promotion and food education. |
| Springboard for the Arts | Fergus Falls | PartnerSHIP 4 Health and Springboard for the Arts will utilize this grant to create an interactive Play Sculpture in Fergus Falls that encourages physical activity and creativity for children and their families. |
| The Loppet Foundation | Minneapolis | Grant provided for the construction of The Trailhead, a 14,000-square-foot welcome center in Theodore Wirth Regional Park. |
| Twin Cities Native American Lacrosse | Minneapolis | The Twin Cities Native American Lacrosse seeks to use this grant to promote healthy active play in Native American youth from the Twin Cities through the game of lacrosse. |
| Upper Sioux Community | Upper Sioux | Grant issued to support the Zani Woyute (healthy foods) project to foster food sovereignty and improved health for the youth of your community. |
| White Earth Reservation Tribal Council | White Earth | Grant issued to provide three skateparks to the villages of Pine Point, Nay Tah Waush, and White Earth. |
| Windom Area Hospital | Windom | The grant was used to develop a path around our hospital campus to provide an exercise opportunity for communities, as well as incorporate outdoor gym equipment to make exercise fun for the family and accessible to all, regardless of economic barriers. |
| Youth Determined to Succeed, Inc. | Brooklyn Park | Grant issued to support the purchasing of fitness and nutrition equipment to support enhancing our Kids4Health (K4H) Youth Health & Wellness Programs effectiveness, and to equip their new program location space inside the Harold Mezille North Community YMCA |
About The NFL Foundation: The National Football League Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of those touched by the game of football – from players at all levels to communities across the country. The NFL Foundation represents the 32 NFL clubs and supports the health, safety and wellness of athletes, youth football, and the communities that support our game. For more information on The NFL Foundation, visit: www.NFLFoundation.org.
About the Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee Legacy Fund: The Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee Legacy Fund is a 501(c)3, community advised fund of the Minnesota Community Foundation. Working in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Health’s Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP) and based on the recommendations of SHIP’s community health boards, the Legacy Fund is providing 52 grants to 52 community projects across our state over the 52 weeks leading up to Super Bowl LII. The work of the Legacy Fund is made possible by Minnesota’s philanthropic community, including foundations, corporations, and individual donors who share our passion for improving the health and wellness of kids from every corner of our state. Its goal is to build awareness of, and invest in solutions for, a healthier generation of Minnesota kids across the state. Through its grant making and awareness initiatives, the Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee’s Legacy Fund will leverage this single event into a lifetime of good health for the next generation of Minnesotans. For more information on the MNSBHC’s Legacy Fund, including an introductory video, please visit www.mnsuperbowl.com/legacy.
