Leading up to the 2023 NFL Draft in Kansas City on April 27-29, the NFL will host a series of community events. From character-building initiatives to youth football events to food distribution and community greening projects, the NFL aims to leave a lasting, positive legacy in Kansas City and throughout the state of Missouri.
Throughout Draft week, the collective NFL family will participate in events designed to give back with an emphasis on activations that promote youth health and wellness. To kick off Draft week, the NFL, alongside Salute to Service partner Bob Woodruff Foundation (BWF) and NFL partner Little Caesars, will host an event to thank those who have served as well as active-duty military members and their families on Sunday. On Monday, NFL Green will host an NFL Draft Community Greening project alongside Bridging the Gap, Kansas City Parks, Verizon, and the Kansas City Chiefs to plant trees throughout Dunbar Park. On Tuesday, the NFL will host a Character Playbook event, which will teach middle-school students at James Bridger Middle School about the connections between mental wellness and healthy relationships.
On Wednesday, NFL Draft prospects will participate in a youth football clinic and various service projects alongside local youth which will improve the grounds of the middle school adjacent to Central High School in Kansas City. This represents the first time that Draft prospects will engage in this type of project as their entry point to community engagement right before they join the NFL.
NFL Community Clinics Day also will take place at Draft Experience on Wednesday. Community groups including Special Olympics and Strong Girls Group will head to the Play Football field to participate in various activities, including skills and drills as well as engage in a charitable project packing a resource bag that will benefit two local Kansas City-based organizations, Operation Breakthrough and Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault (MOCSA).
To round out the week, the NFL and Lowe's will support day one of Kansas City's popular Tomato Days at Kansas City Community Gardens, which focuses on helping low-income families obtain affordable vegetable plants and create their own gardens to produce food. The NFL and Lowe's will also team up for a refurbishment of the area used by youth at the site of the event. On Friday, the NFL, and its partner American Heart Association (AHA) will work together on a refurbishment project that will turn a school room at Frank Rushton Elementary School into an NFL Play 60 play space.
To learn more about the NFL Draft, visit the NFL Operations site.