• FORT GREGG-ADAMS
Military children at select installations will soon rub elbows with professional football players thanks to a collaboration between the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA), military exchanges, Procter & Gamble (P&G), NFL ProCamps and the military.
For the 13th straight season, P&G is sponsoring these free events where military installations compete for a chance to win a sports camp for the children in their community. The camps are hosted by NFL athletes such as Morgan Fox, Jevón Holland, Devin Lloyd and many others.
The instructional camps are led by NFL players for children, ages 6-14, of active duty, reserve, retired and Department of Defense (DoD) civilians. The winning stateside installations are announced in late spring.
HOW IT WORKS
Through April 6, participating stateside commissaries will offer their customers an opportunity to help win an NFL ProCamps event for their installation by purchasing select P&G products.
P&G is joining DeCA, the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES), the Navy Exchange Service Command (NEXCOM), the Marine Corps Exchange (MCX) and the Coast Guard Exchange (CGX) to offer these ProCamps events.
During the promotional period that ends April 6, commissary customers will see additional savings on their favorite P&G brands, said Dena Hawkins, sales director, P&G Military Team (DeCA Pillar Leader).
Customer purchases of designated P&G products at their local commissaries and exchanges during the contest period will determine which installations win a ProCamps event for up to 150 children. The winning installations will be announced a few weeks after the sales event has concluded.
An NFL player will coach the participants as they rotate through various stations to learn basic football skills and later participate in games and competitions.
Any winning military community that does not have enough children to conduct a camp could win a seven-on-seven flag football camp for that installation.
OVERSEAS EVENTS
Free camps have already been scheduled overseas, one for Vogelweh, Germany, March 22-23, and the other for Yokota AB, Japan, April 12-13.
The overseas ProCamps event scheduled for Vogelweh, Germany, will be hosted by Jevón Holland, a safety from the Miami Dolphins — the site of the camp is at the Kaiserslautern High School — and autograph signings at the Kaiserslautern Military Community Center (KMC) and Ramstein AB Commissary.
Morgan Fox, a defensive end with the Los Angeles Chargers, will host the other overseas camp, at the Yokota AB High School. He will also be doing signings at the Yokota AB Commissary and Exchange.
“PRICELESS” PAYBACK
“As a service member and the father of a military child, I’m here to tell you that the payback of these camps for the children in our community is priceless,” said Navy Command Master Chief Mario Rivers, senior enlisted advisor to the DeCA director and chief executive officer (CEO).
“Military children face many challenges being in households where parents are constantly deploying or the family is moving from community to community,” he explained. “These camps give them a sense of normalcy and fun with NFL players teaching them teamwork and physical fitness.”
“P&G is honored to continue to give back to the military communities, families, and children by sponsoring the Pro Camps events each year,” Hawkins said.
“We appreciate the sacrifice the military community makes for our country,” she continued. “Campers will learn the fundamentals of football and compete for a chance to win signed merchandise plus even more great P&G product samples through camper of the day awards,” she added.
TEAMWORK
Teamwork is key to the success of these events, noted Molly Fanning, executive vice president (EVP) of Partnership Marketing.
“Events like the football ProCamps are only possible when partners such as P&G work together with both the commissary and exchange,” she said. “The stores don’t just provide great value on products the patron trusts, they also help bring the military community together to support families and single Soldiers.
“This event gets military children and their families out of the house for a few hours where they can interact with an NFL star. Children who participate don’t need any football experience, just an open mind about learning a little football, but more importantly, the value of teamwork and resiliency on and off the field.”
Source: DeCA
Edited by Larry Lapka
