NFL / LISC Grassroots Program
The NFL / LISC Grassroots Program is a partnership of the National Football League Youth Football Fund (NFL YFF) and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation's Youth Development & Recreation National Program. The Grassroots Program has awarded more than $28 million in grants over 12 years to local nonprofits across the country focused on the health and welfare of their communities, particularly with regards to their young people.
The goal of the program is to provide non-profit, neighborhood-based organizations, middle schools and high schools with financing and technical assistance to improve the quality, safety, and accessibility of local football fields.
The Andre Tippett Field, Branch Brook Park, Newark, New Jersey
The most recent addition to the NFL Grassroots Program portfolio in New Jersey is the newly refurbished Andre Tippett Field in Newark's Branch Brook Park. (See 
pictures below.) The Barringer High School football team uses the field daily during the season, and now benefits from new "state of the art" artificial turf, new lights and new fencing around the field's perimeter. The field is named for one of Barringer's own alumnus, the former New England Patriot Andre Tippett.
On November 3, 2009, the National Football League (NFL) and the New York Giants in conjunction with LISC, Essex County Parks Foundation, State of New Jersey and Barringer High School joined former NY Giants players, Joe Morris and Steven Baker for a football clinic to benefit the Barringer High School’s football team. The clinic was part of the celebration for the reopening of field for year-round, recreational use.
Click here to view pictures from the clinic.
The NFL Grassroots Program prides itself on the local sponsorship of fields by local NFL teams across the country. The funding for field refurbishing would not be possible without their generosity. Tippett field's local partnership with the NY Giants is indispensable, and like so many others the work also required the support and coordination of the Essex County Parks Department, the State of New Jersey and the Essex County Board of Education.
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Former Giants player Joe Morris works with a member of the Barringer High School Football Squad at a practice November 3, 2009 on the newly refurbished Andre Tippett Field. The field, located in Branch Brook Park, was equipped with "state of the art" artificial turf, new fencing and lights for Barringer's seasonal practice needs courtesy of the LISC-NFL Grassroots Program and the Giants. |
Former NY Giants Joe Morris (L) and Stephen Baker address Barringer High School Football Squad players prior to their November 3 practice. The two former Giants players spent the afternoon coaching these Newark athletes and working with their coaches on plays and tackling techniques. |
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Nat Turner Field (above) is the central component of Newark's largest city-owned park that opened in July 2009. It will serve 19,000 neighboring residents, including nearly 7,000 children. |
On Tuesday, July 28, 2009, Newark's Mayor Cory Booker did the honor of cutting the Nat Turner Park grand opening ribbon along side the park's community members, public representatives, and multiple funders. |
Nat Turner Park, Central Ward, Newark, New Jersey
On July 28, 2009, the second NFL / LISC Grassroots Program athletic field (above left) in Newark was unveiled at the grand opening of the newest, largest, city-owned park, Nat Turner Park. The multi-purpose athletic field within the park was funded by LISC's NFL Grassroots Program through a partnership with the New York Giants. The field will be used year-round for both football and soccer. Former Giants player Tiki Barber and Newark Mayor Cory Booker were on hand to make the inaugural first football toss.
The opening of Nat Turner Park is thirty (30) years in the making. Spearheaded by the Trust for Public Land in conjunction with The City of Newark and Newark Public Schools, the park was designed in part by students from three adjacent schools and members of the Central Ward community. In addition to the athletic field, the nine-acre park also includes a 400-meter regulation track, ornamental perimeter fencing, a playground, picnic areas, and streetscape improvements—all elements requested by community members.
West Side Park, Newark, New Jersey
In December 2002 famed football player Tiki Barber and NY Giants co-owner Preston Robert Tische delivered a $100,000 check to the Newark Community Development Network (NCDN) to improve the athletic facilities in Newark's West Side Park. Pictured above at the press conference held in Newark City Hall's Rotunda (from l-r) is Gerard Joab, Sr. Program Director of the local LISC Program, Pernell Parker Executive Director of NCDN, Tiki Barber, Mayor Sharpe James of Newark, Gerri Harvey Executive Director of CREST CDC, Congressman Payne, Sheila Pitts Director of the West Side Park Conservancy, Preston Robert Tische NY Giants co-owner, and Mayor Wayne Smith of Irvington.
Parks and ball fields can serve as tremendous community assets because they offer opportunities for recreation, education, and relaxation that contribute to the local quality of life, especially for young people. In five years of programming, the Fields Program has awarded $7.9 million in grants for 88 projects with total development costs of $31 million in over 40 cities across the country. Grants are announced and awarded annually in the early fall.
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For more information, visit the LISC National website. |
Click here to download the complete document in format.
