GAINESVILLE, Fla  –November 23^rd, 2008 - The Make a Play Foundation, a network of 20 legendary football players of Florida, Florida State and Miami, is launching a ‘Food Fight’ between Gainesville, Tallahassee and Miami, calling on students, alumni and fans to help provide meals for the holiday season to families around the state by donating toward the food drive and to its youth academic and recreational grant programs. The ‘Food Fight’ will end on Friday, Nov. 28 at 7 p.m. and the winning university city will be announced the day of the UF-FSU game on Saturday, Nov. 29.

As of Saturday night, nearly 5,000 pounds of food had already been collected in the challenge. Tallahassee leads the competition with 8,080 points, collecting over 4,040 pounds of food. Gainesville has earned 2,596 points towards the challenge, and has collected over 800 pounds of food through UF's SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise) organization.  For the competition, each pound of food collected will add two points to the university’s city’s total, and each dollar raised will add five points.

The ‘Food Fight’ puts football fans of the state’s big three university cities in competition with each other during rivalry week to create greatly-needed resources for Florida families, while emphasizing that donations will remain in each region which they are raised. Each donation will be credited toward one of the three university’s cities – Gainesville, Tallahassee or Miami – but designated to benefit one of seven regions: the Panhandle, North Central Florida, Jacksonville and surrounding counties, Orlando and the East coast, Tampa-St. Pete, Southwest Florida and Miami-Broward.

The competition will focus on the two university cities involved in this weekend’s Florida-Florida State game, benefiting the Bread of the Mighty of Gainesville and America’s Second Harvest of Big Bend in Tallahassee. Non-perishable food donations can be dropped off at any of the 23 Gainesville or Tallahassee area Publix stores, and items of need include canned meat, chili, ravioli, soup, vegetables and fruit; canned tuna and chicken; spaghetti and sauce; canned and dried beans; macaroni and rice; hot and cold cereal and peanut butter and jelly. Food may be dropped off at any participating area Publix store and will be contributed toward the ‘Food Fight’ through Wednesday, Nov. 26. Bins are designated inside the entrance of each store, marked for each local food bank.

Fans are also encouraged to donate online to count toward their university’s city total, while benefiting their local region. Monetary donations to count towards the ‘Food Fight’ can be made through the Make a Play Foundation’s Web site at www.makeaplayfoundation.org and will be collected through Friday, Nov. 28 until 7 p. m.

The food and donations will be distributed throughout each region to families, children, seniors and the homeless through approved food pantries, soup kitchens, low-income after-school programs and emergency shelters.

One hundred percent of all food and donations collected on-site in Gainesville and Tallahassee will benefit the partnering food banks. Donations collected online during the week of the game will go toward food banks in each region and the foundations’ academic and recreational grant programs, which includes scholarship programs, educational field trips, leadership programs and to purchase computers and athletic equipment for community youth centers.

To learn more about the ‘Food Fight’ and to track its progress, visit the Make a Play Foundation's Web site at www.makeaplayfoundation.org.  

9/06/08

GAINESVILLE WINS INAGURAL
RIVALS CHALLENGE

MIAMI, Fla – Sunday, September 7th  - The Make a Play Foundation, a 501(c)(3) made up of former players of Florida, Florida State and Miami, held their inaugural Rivals Challenge last week during the UF-UM game week, raising donations for UF Habitat for Humanity, UM Habitat for Humanity and the Warrick Dunn Foundation.

Gainesville won the first fundraising challenge, with donations benefiting the UF Habitat for Humanity and their home-building efforts in Gainesville.

The Rivals Challenge is designed to use the passion and energy of the rivalry weeks to raise awareness and donations for programs in Gainesville, Tallahassee and Miami for different charities during the head-to-head competition weeks between the three schools.

    8/31/08

FORMER PLAYERS BUILD ON UM-UF RIVALRY WITH CHARITY CHALLENGE
MIAMI, Fla – Saturday, August 30^th  - The Make a Play Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity made up of former football players of Florida, Florida State and Miami, will launch a week-long fundraising challenge to benefit families in Gainesville, Miami and Tallahassee during the week of the UF-UM game. The foundation is partnering with the University of Florida and the University of Miami's Habitat for Humanity chapters to raise funds and recruit construction volunteers to sponsor and build homes for families in Gainesville and Miami. The Rivals Challenge also will partner with the Warrick Dunn Foundation, an organization founded by the former FSU running back to provide single-parent families with the opportunity of home ownership.

"It's about love for our neighbors, we've challenged each other this week but in reality these homes will help change these families’ lives,” Make a Play’s co-founder Terry Jackson said. “We’re all competitors, but when we are able to put those new keys into these families’ hands, that's what it's all about."

The campus Habitat for Humanity chapters at UF and UM are focused on raising donations to sponsor and build a home in each university’s city. If the funds are raised, the homes will be built in Gainesville and Miami in early 2009 by the chapter members and their volunteers. The average cost for sponsorship of each home is $60,000.

“Whether you swing a hammer, make a donation, or simply spread the word to your friends, you are helping lift walls and open doors for a family,” UF Habitat for Humanity President Paul Loschak said. “Rivalries like this one give football fans everywhere an amazing energy. Regardless of who wins or loses, we have a chance right now to use this energy and leave a mark on two local families’ lives.” 

"Every house Habitat builds has a unique essence of brotherhood and unity, but having houses sponsored and built by Hurricane and Gator students would illustrate the dedication and commitment of the good will of young people in such a time of economic hardship,” UM Habitat for Humanity President Dalal Eldick said. “We will be the direct cause to giving a new life to the families we work with."

Fans in Tallahassee also will have the opportunity to compete in the Rivals Challenge, benefiting local single-parent families through Dunn’s foundation and his ‘Home for the Holidays’ program. The Warrick Dunn Foundation provides a down payment on a home selected by the single parent and associated with an approved non-profit home ownership program. Homes are fully furnished for the entire family with furniture, appliances, linens, décor, lawn and garden equipment, cleaning supplies and groceries. The Make a Play Foundation’s goal is to assist two Tallahassee families through the challenge.

“Our foundation is proud to be a part of a challenge that embraces the tradition and competitiveness of Florida’s college football fans,” said FSU alumnus and Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Warrick Dunn.

If donations exceed the goals of the Rivals Challenge in the respective area, they will fund additional housing opportunities through the partnering programs and will also be shared with the Make a Play Foundation to provide youth academic and recreational grants for children in Florida.

Founding members of the Player Panel include Neal Anderson (UF), James Bates (UF), Lomas Brown (UF), Chris Doering (UF), Warrick Dunn (FSU), Earnest Graham (UF), Jacquez Green (UF), Terry Jackson (UF), Willie Jackson, Jr. (UF), Marvin Jones (FSU), Nick Maddox (FSU), Shane Matthews (UF), Santana Moss (Miami), Sinorice Moss (Miami), Burgess Owens (Miami), Errict Rhett (UF), Leon Searcy (Miami), Max Starks (UF), Fred Weary (UF) and Lawrence Wright (UF).

The Make a Play Foundation will partner with a different national or regional charity and dedicate service hours and donations to the adopted organization during each of the head-to-head competition weeks throughout the season. The 2008 college football schedule includes games at all three universities: Florida hosts Miami in Gainesville on September 6^th, Miami will host Florida State at Dolphin Stadium on October 4^th and Florida will travel to Tallahassee to face Florida State on November 29^th.

The Rivals Challenge will begin on Sunday, August 31^st at midnight and donations will be accepted through Saturday, September 6^th at 5 p.m. on the Make a Play Foundation’s official Web site at www.makeaplayfoundation.org. Standings will be updated daily on the Web site by 7 p.m. The winning city will be announced the day of the UF-UM game on September 6^th.  

                   

8/21/08

FORMER PLAYERS, HISTORIC RIVALS ANNOUNCE NEW CHARITABLE FOUNDATION
Letterwinners from 3 of college football’s legendary rivals form a unique partnership through the Make a Play Foundation, a new charitable organization that will impact children across Florida

MIAMI, Fla – Legendary former football players of Florida, Florida State and Miami have developed programs and initiatives designed to create opportunities for children in their hometowns by providing academic and recreational grants through a new charitable organization, the Make a Play Foundation. The 501(c)(3) organization is a unique partnership between former players of three of college football’s most storied rivals and will partner with established community organizations and individual player foundations to provide grants promoting leadership, accountability and confidence in children around the state of Florida.

“There are so many kids out there that don’t have goals or expectations of themselves because they don’t have access or the opportunity for bigger things,” co-founder Terry Jackson said. “Anything we can do to help get them involved in something that interests them, whether it’s sports, music, art or education, it’s worth it.”

The organization’s goal is to use a collective voice to help promote growth and change for children in their hometowns, building on what several individual former players have already done by devoting their time, leadership and financial support to a range of causes. The Make a Play Foundation’s vision is to provide academic or recreational grants designed to fund educational field trips, improve or build community playgrounds and athletic fields, provide college scholarships, develop leadership programs, reward academic improvements or success, purchase athletic equipment and uniforms, support musical programs, provide computers and technology to local community centers and fund additional family-based programs.

Founding members of the Player Panel include Neal Anderson (UF), James Bates (UF), Lomas Brown (UF), Warrick Dunn (FSU), Earnest Graham (UF), Jacquez Green (UF), Terry Jackson (UF), Willie Jackson, Jr. (UF), Marvin Jones (FSU), Nick Maddox (FSU), Shane Matthews (UF), Santana Moss (Miami), Sinorice Moss (Miami), Burgess Owens (Miami), Errict Rhett (UF), Leon Searcy (Miami), Max Starks (UF), Fred Weary (UF) and Lawrence Wright (UF).

“So many players are out there doing things on the local level, this just provides a network between us to do bigger things, help us expand and build,” Jackson said. “We’ve always supported each other’s community projects, this just gives us the opportunity to pull together and bring fans into the competition and have a little fun with it.

Programs will focus on having a local presence as resources raised in each specific area will be invested back into those communities through hometown grants. Players and fans will also have the opportunity to directly support children and families in their communities through an option to specify that financial donations are designated for children in one of seven areas: the Panhandle; North Central Florida; Jacksonville; Tampa-St.Pete; Orlando and the East Coast; Southwest Florida and Miami-Dade and Broward counties. 

Along with providing opportunities and access to at-risk youth, the Make a Play Foundation will also focus the energy and spirit of the three rivalry weeks by launching state-wide fan competitions. The week leading up to each rivalry game promises to bring fans into the battle, making them an active player in some of the most intense rivalries in all of sports. The foundation will partner with a different national or regional charity and dedicate service hours and donations to the adopted organization during the head-to-head competition weeks. The 2008 college football schedule includes games at all three universities: Florida hosts Miami in Gainesville on September 6^th, Miami will host Florida State at Dolphin Stadium on October 4^th and Florida will travel to Tallahassee to face Florida State on November 29^th.

The Make a Play Foundation was established and provided Publix and Wal-Mart gift cards to 250 families in Miami, Tallahassee and Gainesville to purchase holiday meals last December. The cards were distributed through three organizations: the Refuge House of North Florida, Peaceful Paths Domestic Abuse Network of North Central Florida and the CBS4 Neighbors4Neighbors Holiday Adopt-a-Family program in South Florida. The Refuge House of North Florida and the Peaceful Paths Domestic Abuse Network are two organizations that focus on assisting families and victims of domestic violence while the CBS4 Neighbors4Neighbors organization assists South Florida families in crisis for a variety of different issues.

The foundation will expand to include alumni of all Florida colleges and universities to develop the power to promote change for children and families around the state.  For more information on the Make a Play Foundation and partnering player foundations, please visit the official Web site at
w w w . m a k e a p l a y f o u n d a t i o n . o r g.