NFL PLAY 60 and Kids Heart Challenge Partner to Enhance Student Physical Activity and Mental Wellness
The American Heart Association and NFL are expanding their NFL PLAY 60 program in collaboration with Kids Heart Challenge to promote physical activity and mental wellness among students, offering new resources including family challenges, CPR training with Super Bowl ticket incentives, and school grants.
The American Heart Association and National Football League, in collaboration with its 32 NFL clubs, are expanding their physical activity and mental wellness program through an enhanced partnership between NFL PLAY 60 and the Association's Kids Heart Challenge and American Heart Challenge programs. This initiative supports evidence-based guidance showing that active students learn better, focus more, think more clearly, react to stress more calmly, and perform better in the classroom.
Now in its 19th season, the collaboration builds on the American Heart Association's physical activity guidelines recommending that children get at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily. The partnership reaches over 10 million families annually through the nearly 50-year-old Kids Heart Challenge and American Heart Challenge programs, focusing on developing healthy habits and reducing sedentary behaviors for immediate and long-term health benefits.
New this year is the NFL PLAY 60 Family Challenge, encouraging families to get active together at home while matching quality time with wellness priorities. As part of Kids Heart Challenge, students and families will learn Hands-Only CPR through the Finn's Mission learning module, featuring an introduction video by Damar Hamlin, cardiac arrest survivor and Buffalo Bills safety. Each student completing CPR instruction earns an entry for two tickets to Super Bowl LXI, with five individual winners and five schools receiving $10,000 fitness equipment makeovers.
The program also introduces an expanded financial grants program focusing on four key areas: physical activity, FLAG football, recess, and inclusive physical education. Applications for the $350,000 grant program will be open year-round to help educators support students in real time. The popular NFL PLAY 60 Exercise Library returns, featuring two-to-three minute on-demand exercise videos from all 32 NFL teams with players, legends, cheerleaders, and mascots.
Information on NFL PLAY 60 resources and available grant opportunities can be found at heart.org/NFLPLAY60, while parents and school administrators can visit heart.org/schools to learn how students can participate in the comprehensive wellness initiative.