By Marty
Gitlin, Special to AmericanYouthFootball.com
Shawn Sullivan had a lot on his
plate.
We’re not talking steak, baked potato
and green beans. We’re talking coaches, uniforms and players.
Sullivan, you see, is the director of
the fledgling Central Florida Youth Football League, which is now in the
midst of its first season. He was helping organize it when he began
thinking of a way to showcase a commitment to the American Youth
Football motto, Giving Back.
The result is a highly successful
food drive leading up to Thanksgiving. Families and friends of the
league have swarmed to games and practices with non-perishable food
items in hand. They have donated about 3,500 pounds so far. In fact,
it’s hard for Sullivan to keep up -- he has about 20 pounds of food
sitting in his living room.
Talk about a screaming success. And
AYF has recognized the worthiness of such an endeavor, challenging all
of its organizations throughout the country to embark on a food drive
leading up to Thanksgiving as well to feed the hungry.
“The AYF motto is ‘giving back’ and
we asked ourselves what we could do to honor that motto,” Sullivan
explains. “Families are able to bring food to games and we also have 13
different practice locations at which food can be donated. We don’t know
specifically yet where the food will be donated, but there are a few
places we’ve heard of and we’re looking to divide it up so a lot of
needy people can share it.”
League officials were searching for
ways to give back and raise money for the league, so they killed two
birds with one stone. They decided to ask patrons at games for either a
small financial donation that would go toward the league or to
contribute to the food drive. Folks have also come to practices armed
with food. They are closing rapidly on their goal of 5,000 pounds of
food.
And AYF is asking other youth
football organizations to follow suit. That brings a smile to Sullivan’s
face.
“We’re very honored by that,” he
says. “There’s a league in North Carolina called the Coastal Carolina
Youth Football League. The commissioner of that league is Bob Dunn. He’s
also the Atlantic Region Director for AYF and I’ve spoken with him about
organizing this league. He’s been a shining example for us. They run a
family-oriented league and so do we. I think this food drive ties into
that.”
That focus on family has driven
Sullivan and other league officials in their organizational efforts.
Sullivan served as board member when the local organization was
affiliated with another youth football entity. The group decided to make
a switch to AYF for the benefit of the kids and their families.
The social
gatherings don’t begin and end with the first and last snaps of the
football season. The Central Florida Youth Football League has featured
such family-oriented activities as a campout before the first game that
attracted more than 200 kids as well as cookouts, a Local Celebrity Day,
Law Enforcement Day, Firefighters Day, and several other events.
“We’re not your typical football
league that just runs in the fall,” Sullivan says, not without a hint of
pride. “We do things year-round.”
Sullivan’s league is based primarily
in North Orlando, but it spreads into every city in Sentinel County and
into West Orange and East Orange counties. About 450 kids have
participated in the inaugural season, but Sullivan hopes to expand
greatly and rapidly. He believes the inclusion of 2,000 kids next year
is not unrealistic.
Though Sullivan prefers not to
downgrade other organizations, he admits that the move to AYF has proved
to be quite a positive one.
“We needed another option for kids
and their families,” he says. “It was decided to affiliate with AYF.
It’s been a big hit.”
So is the Thanksgiving food drive.
Sullivan and his group certainly wasted no time giving back.
The Largest Youth Football & Cheer Organization in the
Country
