Event Part of the NFL’s “Hometown Huddle” Collaboration with the United Way

Kansas City Chiefs LB Derrick Johnson brings a youthful exuberance to the Red and Gold’s rejuvenated defensive unit. When he came to the team as a first round selection (15th overall) last year, he vowed to make a mark with Kansas City. A year later, his influence is easily seen both on the field, where the team boasts the NFL’s fourth-best defensive unit, and off of it. Having recently founded the King of the Field Foundation, Johnson wasn’t about to let a chilly, overcast morning stop his ability to team with Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, KaBOOM! and the United Way as the quartet touched the lives of youth involved with Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City.

With nearly 300 volunteers converging on the future site of the East Side Unit of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City, Johnson and his partners helped to construct a playground in a single day. While this was the third playground project in Kansas City led by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, the Kansas City Chiefs and KaBOOM!, it marked Johnson’s initial experience with the project. Making the moment even more special was the fact that this playground build also was the Chiefs addition to the NFL’s league-wide “Hometown Huddle” activities being held throughout the country in connection with the United Way.

“This is just amazing,” Johnson said as he stood in awe of the new playground he had helped to construct. “Being a part of something like this is humbling. I can’t thank Thrivent Financial, KaBOOM!, the Boys & Girls Clubs and the United Way enough for their help with this. When I first decide to be involved with this project, I never anticipated it touching me as much as it already has. The fact that this facility will be utilized by generations of youth to help stay in shape and off of the streets brings the same smile to my face that making a game-saving sack would.”

“Can you imagine what the children in this community will be thinking when they first see this amazing play land standing where there used to be nothing,” asked Thrivent Financial’s Manager of Lutheran Community Services Fred Hollich. “We took a stretch of land today that was nothing more than an old parking lot and turned it into a haven for these kids. The effect that this project will have on the community will be quite a thing to witness. Of the three playgrounds that we have joined with the Chiefs in completing, I feel like this will have the swiftest impact.”

Derrick Johnson’s King of the Field Foundation seeks to provide opportunities for individuals to reach their full potential. This project will enabled Johnson to aid in the redevelopment of a local urban area, allowing youth a safe and healthy option to exercise.

A not-for-profit Fortune 500 financial services membership organization, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans helps nearly 3 million members achieve their financial goals, offering a wide range of financial solutions. In addition, the organization helps members give back to their communities. In 2005, Thrivent Financial and its members generated more than $400 million impact through outreach programs and activities that support congregations, schools, charitable organizations and individuals in need.

Founded in 1912, the mission of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City is to promote the development of self-esteem, values and skills for boys and girls, ages 5-18, with special emphasis on youth from disadvantaged circumstances. The Clubs look to serve nearly 10,000 youth in Kansas City in 2006. Visit www.helpkckids.org for more information.

Celebrating its ten year anniversary in 2006, KaBOOM! is a national nonprofit organization that envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. Over the past decade, KaBOOM! has used its innovative community-build model to bring together business and community interests to construct more than 1,000 new playgrounds, skateparks, sports fields and ice rinks across North America. For more information, visit www.kaboom.org.

The NFL and United Way Hometown Huddle is a collection of hands-on volunteer projects implemented simultaneously the same week in different NFL cities across the country. For the last six years, Hometown Huddle has represented a snapshot of some of the volunteer activities in which NFL players participate year round with local United Way agencies.

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