Bridgestone Retail Operations recently celebrated the culmination of a two-week fundraising competition for Boys & Girls Clubs of America in partnership with NFL players from Tight End University (TEU). The campaign concluded at the TEU Summit in Nashville, where area club youth had the opportunity to engage with players and experience activities that emphasized the importance of healthy life skills, such as teamwork, strength and the importance of good character.
At the event, Bridgestone announced it is making a $450,000 donation to local Boys & Girls Clubs to support critical needs, including transportation and technology resources. TEU also announced their players and fans raised an additional $131,000 for Clubs in NFL markets across the country. Dawson Knox, Tight End playing for the Buffalo Bills, was the top TEU fundraiser during the campaign and received an additional $100,000 donation from Bridgestone and TEU for his hometown Boys & Girls Club. All in, Bridgestone and TEU donated a combined $681,000 to Boys & Girls Clubs nationwide.
The TEU partnership is the latest campaign in support of the Bridgestone Driving Great Futures initiative, which has raised more than $20 million to support Boys & Girls Clubs nationwide since the program’s inception in 2015, the company says. This is the second consecutive year Bridgestone and TEU have partnered to support Boys & Girls Clubs of America. TEU provides a venue for the country’s top Tight Ends to build camaraderie, share ideas and make an impact in their communities.
In 2015, Bridgestone says it established its national partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America with the mission of making out-of-school programming more accessible to Club youth and their families. Through donations collected at the company’s 2,200+ retail stores, Bridgestone has contributed funds to address transportation-related needs, including maintenance and repairs of existing Club vehicles and the purchase of 51 new vans. The partnership has also raised money to help bridge technology divides through the purchase of new computers and hotspots that support in-person Club programming, virtual classroom learning and other technology infrastructure needs, the company says.
