“It is amazing that we are taking initiative like this to do something in the community,” said rookie safety Sydney Brown, who also attended the event. “We do not realize the necessities it takes to play sports. A lot of the stuff is just given to us, so we do not value how much of a need sports bras and proper equipment are to play sports.”
The Eagles and Operation Warm announced their partnership on February 1, expanding on the team’s unprecedented $100,000 equipment donation last year in support of area-based girls’ participation in youth sports.
Operation Warm is a national nonprofit organization committed to ensuring equitable access to food, healthcare, education, and in this case, sports equipment.
“We are proud to align ourselves with Operation Warm on a long-term initiative that will provide young girls and women with the confidence, equipment, and support needed to succeed both on and off the playing field,” said Jeffrey Lurie, Chairman and CEO of the Eagles.
“We envision the FLY:FWD initiative as a beacon of change, a spark that will ignite a transformation in the lives of young athletes,” said Grace Sica, Executive Director of Operation Warm.
An initial pilot program was introduced when the partnership was first announced to test out the distribution and use of the sports bras.
Teams in the Eagles Girls Flag Football League were some of the first to test out the tops. Amongst that group was the Cheltenham girls high school team, coached by Wright. After receiving the sports bras, her team could not wait to get their hands on more.
