NFL gives $1 million toward grant to keep Bay Area kids active, healthy

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The NFL and every Super Bowl host city always team up for charity, but San Francisco has raised the bar this week and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell helped celebrate one project.

When they first put in the bid to host Super Bowl 50, the host committee promised it would be the most philanthropic and on Thursday the commissioner himself got to see one example.

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Goodell played a school yard game at Malcolm X Academy in San Francisco's Bayview District. The league has given the Super Bowl 50 Host Committee a $1 million grant to support a new initiative to keep Bay Area kids active and healthy. San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders players got in on the action. "It warms my heart being able to come out here and put a smile on their faces," San Francisco 49ers linebacker Navorro Bowman said.

"It's part of the legacy that we're doing in the Bay Area to make sure kids feel the presence of the Super Bowl for many weeks, many months and many years after we leave," Goodell said.

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The NFL's donation has been more than matched by the fund of the Super Bowl 50 Host Committee, which has set a new bar for giving. "We're shooting by the end of the weekend to be north of $13 million, which would make us the most philanthropic Super Bowl and possibly sporting event ever," Super Bowl 50 Host Committee spokesperson Daniel Lurie said.

Some of that money is transforming a site behind the school into a park. So far, 140 organizations all over the Bay Area have received more than $7 million. And these kids are getting in on the philanthropy. Devices track their steps and have them earn points for a UNICEF campaign for children worldwide.

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