FOUNDATION PROGRAMS

Each year, the Kraft family and the Patriots honor volunteers of the New England community for their service to nonprofit organizations around the region through the Myra Kraft Community MVP Awards. In 2011, the Kraft family and Patriots Charitable Foundation announced the renaming of the award to the Myra Kraft Community MVP Award, in honor of Myra's life-long commitment to giving to others through volunteerism. Each year, Myra Kraft Community MVP winners are recognized for their leadership, dedication and a commitment to bettering their communities during a luncheon at Gillette Stadium with a donation made in their name to the nonprofit organization for which they volunteer.

The New England Patriots Charitable Foundation continues their efforts to increase awareness of the importance of blood and platelet donation with a blood drive at the Kraft Family Blood Donor Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women' Hospital. During the drive all successful donors receive special Patriots-themed gifts and are entered into a drawing for autographed prizes.

The New England Patriots are proud to team with the Make-A-Wish program in providing special experiences for children battling life-threatening illnesses. Children from across the U.S. are invited to visit Gillette Stadium for a day of making their wish to meet a Patriots player come true. The memorable day includes a meet and greet with the players, trips to The Hall at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon, personalized Patriots gear and more.

In September of 2015, Robert Kraft teamed with Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey to launch a new program called Game Change: The Patriots Anti-Violence Partnership. This innovative program is designed to educate high school students about violence prevention. The program provides training to students, faculty and coaches at 90 high schools across the state. Thirty-four schools will receive more in-depth, on-site training for 30 students. The program works with Mentors in Violence Prevention at the Center for Sport in Society at Northeastern University and uses a sports-themed curriculum. The Kraft family and the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation also works with local grass root anti-violence organizations to help support their efforts.

Not only supporting their loved ones on the field, the Patriot Women's Association is committed to serving the New England community. With events and activities including the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation's Community Holiday Party, and the annual Ladies Luncheon hosted in honor of the late President of the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation, Myra Kraft, the Patriot Women's Association serves as a special arm of team's charitable efforts.

The New England Patriots Charitable Foundation and global law firm, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP have created a pro bono legal services alliance. With this alliance, NEPCF will use its community outreach, which includes thousands of nonprofit organizations in New England, to identify potential clients that require legal services, but lack sufficient funding to pay for legal counsel. If the cases and the organizations meet NEPCF's and Morgan Lewis' requirements then Morgan Lewis will assist and provide the needed legal services without charge. For more information and to download the required intake form, please click here. For general program questions, you may emailprobono@patriots.com. For technical questions, you may email web@patriots.com. For more information, click here.

The Patriots "Read Between the Lines" program features Patriots' offensive and defensive linemen and  includes visits to local schools to promote reading and the importance of education. "Read Between the Lines" is filled with educational fun including a "Summer Reading Blitz" which challenges all students to set summer reading goals, followed by visits by Patriots linemen if students reach their reading goals.

The Mission: To make the next generation of youth the most active and healthy.

The New England Patriots continue to team with the NFL for NFL PLAY 60, a national youth health and fitness campaign focused on increasing the wellness of young fans by encouraging them to be active for at least 60 minutes a day.

Designed to tackle childhood obesity, NFL PLAY 60 brings together the NFL's long-standing commitment to health and fitness with an impressive roster of partner organizations. In addition to national outreach and online programs, NFL PLAY 60 is implemented at the grassroots level through NFL's in-school, after-school and team-based programs. The NFL PLAY 60 initiative is prominent during the NFL's key calendar events, including Super Bowl, Pro Bowl, Draft, Kickoff and Thanksgiving and is supported by many NFL players and coaches year round.

The Kraft family and the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation are dedicated to promoting the importance of exercising for at least 60 minutes a day. Current and former Patriots players, Patriots cheerleaders and mascot, Pat Patriot, make dozens of appearances in the community each year to help promote the PLAY 60 message and encourage children to stay active.

Triathlon is one of the fastest-growing sports in the world, and kids triathlons are a vital part of this trend. Race distances are set by USATriathlon (the governing body of the sport under the United States Olympic Committee) to be challenging, yet achievable and every race consists of four components – swimming, biking, running and transitions. There are two divisions in kids races with the juniors (10 years old & under) completing a 100 yard swim; three mile bike and half mile run. The seniors (ages 11 – 15) complete double the distances (200 yard swim; six mile bike; and one mile run).

Football for You is a free one-day non-contact football clinic presented by the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation and the New England Patriots Alumni Club to encourage and excite the youth of our cities to participate in the game at which these players excelled. The clinic features former New England Patriots players serving as the instructors for the clinic, leading the participants through the fundamentals of offensive and defensive techniques and skills. The clinic is open to all children ages 10 –14 to both experienced players or those just thinking about trying football for the first time. 

Twenty-two clinics will be hosted across New England this spring and summer.

USA Football is the national governing body of youth and amateur football. An independent non-profit based in Indianapolis, USA Football, which hosts more than 100 training events annually, offers education programs for coaches and game officials as well as skill development for young players and resources for youth league administrators. The organization awards more than $1,000,000 in equipment grants to youth leagues and high schools each year based on merit and need along with additional resources. USA Football is the official youth football development partner of the NFL, the NFL Players Association and all 32 NFL teams.

USA Football Month

The New England Patriots, the NFL & NFLPA recognize August as "USA Football Month" as America gets back to football. The New England Patriots with USA Football, invite youth football development programs to view preseason games and to participate in youth football scrimmages at Gillette stadium. During this month, the Patriots participate in numerous youth football initiatives including scrimmages during preseason games, hosting thousands of youth football fans and more.

The NFL High School Football Coach of the Week program honors high school football coaches and their teams each week throughout the season. The program is designed to recognize high school coaches who, through their hard work and dedication to young people, create successful football teams and players both on and off the field. Each week during the high school football season, Pro Football and Patriots Hall of Famer Andre Tippett makes a special visit to one high school to congratulate the coach and team on their award. Each school receives a grant to help maintain and support their football programs.

The New England Patriots Charitable Foundation provides new or gently used football cleats to youth and high school students athletes throughout New England.  Student athletes from low and moderate income families requests will be considered. New and gently used football cleats are available in large sizes only. 

Who Can Request

High School Athletic Directors, Head Football Coaches, Youth Football League Presidents and Youth Football Coaches may request cleats for players in need in their respective programs.  Requests will also be accepted from individual student athletes. Football cleats must be picked up from Gillette Stadium by the coach or student athlete at a mutually agreed upon date and time.  A waiver must be signed by the parent or guardian of each student athlete receiving a pair of cleats.  One pair per athlete only.  

Available sizes

New and gently used football cleats are available in sizes 13 -18.  An extremely limited selection of gently used cleats may be available in sizes 11 and 12.