By Dorothy Okung,
The Professional Football Players Mothers Association (PFPMA) is an organization of women whose sons are current or former NFL players. This sisterhood serves as a support system in helping navigate the many unique experiences that come with being part of the extended NFL family.
“Our vision is transforming lives through serving and supporting our communities.” - PFPMA
Dorothy Okung, is the mother of Los Angeles Chargers offensive tackle Russell Okung, and the serves as the educational coordinator for the PFPMA. She spoke with several NFL moms about their NFL sons
Let’s talk a little about our sons, our champions on and off the football field.
During the off-season, we find that our sons are busy working, and giving back to their communities.
Let’s take a glimpse into some of our football players’ lives during their off season.
Carlos Dunlap plays for the Cincinnati Bengals and for him there is no off-season. At the end of the Bengals season, he continues to work out, and work with kids in the community.
In January, he spent time with young Bengals fans at the Pro Bowl and, in February, his foundation hosted a Hidden Figures screening in his hometown of North Charleston, SC in honor of Black History Month. In March, he went on his annual trip to help in Haiti, and in June he hosted his sixth-annual youth football and cheer camp in his hometown.
However, he's not done yet. He is currently revving up for his annual school supply giveaway in Cincinnati. Also, during all of this, he has dedicated his time to exploring new cities and countries while maintaining his vigorous workout routine.
I'm extremely proud of my son for turning what looks like "free time" into an opportunity to better himself and his community.
Russell Okung plays for the Los Angeles Chargers. His Greater Foundation marries Okung’s twin passions of sports and technology by bringing underprivileged high school kids to the campuses of Seattle’s major tech companies for daylong hack-a-thon. The foundation’s March event, co-sponsored by Amazon’s Black Employee Network, took place at Amazon’s trendy “Arizona” building. Around 60 high school students, predominantly African-American, Latino and Pacific Islanders, participated. The kids split into teams, and each team was assigned a mentor, who is an African-American engineer from Amazon.
For many of these students, this was not only their first time on a corporate campus, but also their firsttime meeting minority engineers.
“There are so many things happening in the technology sector, but traditionally, minorities haven’t been included in that,” says Andrew McGee, Okung’s old OSU teammate, who left a job coaching football at the West Virginia University to run Greater. “We think it’s an injustice if there’s no access or opportunities for everyone in this field.”
At the Amazon event, the kids worked with engineers to come up with ideas for apps to run on the company’s Alexa system, and then devise business plans for those apps. Finally, they presented their concept to a panel of judges, including Okung and hip-hop emcee Sway Calloway, in a Shark Tank–style setting. One team proposed an app that would help kids deal with emotional issues related to absent fathers. “What are the common factors that tie those kids together? Fatherlessness and low income,” Okung says.
For the teenagers, the experience shows them possibility. “It gets you out of your comfort zone, to communicate a business pitch,” 18-year-old Brando Sio tells me. “It’s good to know that if you have mentors like that, they’ll help you.”
Another student, Alissa Hill-Gegrate, 16, says Okung “is like an older brother to everyone here.” A third student, James Lawrence, 15, calls the event “wonderful” because it gave him a chance to have his “voice heard” and to work with engineers at Amazon “and be in their shoes for a day.”
And it doesn’t stop with the hack-a-thons. Greater is negotiating with code schools in Seattle to offer scholarships and subsidized tuition for kids who have gone through their program, to ensure that what starts as an introduction to entrepreneurship at a hack-a-thon can be a career option.
At the intersection of sports and technology, we are leveraging these combined powers in a movement to create a new path to opportunity for students of all backgrounds and to foster diversity in the tech industry. Mirroring the path to professional athleticism, we replace coaches with mentors, physical training with learning, and agents with hiring managers.
Through its programs and with the help of its influential partners, it has created this new pathway, starting from childhood, and leading to a career in the tech industry as a leader and an innovator.
Social Media: @greatermovement (Twitter and Instagram) // Facebook: Greater Foundation. Photo of an Event: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByPBELWi0d0eSVhuWWFQVEpXa1k
Jordan Matthews plays wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills and hosted an evening rap session with the Boys and Girls Clubs of North Alabama speaking on the importance of time management and staying focused on your overall goal. He presented the club with a grant to support the building of a Science, Technology, Engineering, and, Math (STEM) Lab. Matthews’ next stop was a mid-day shoot-around with the Boys and Girls Club of Middle Tennessee. He discussed the importance of healthy eating habits, and donated a grant to support this effort. Finally, at the Boys and Girl Club of Philadelphia, he focused on literacy as the spokesman for the Call-to-Action Literacy Initiative. His grant to the club supports the overall literacy program.
Jordan traveled to Port-au-Prince, Haiti to serve people who are in need of nothing short of a miracle. He shared his faith with the locals, pitching in to do house painting, playing with children and attending a church service.
- Jordan hosted a charity basketball game where his "Vandy Heroes” took on "Real Heroes (teachers, soldiers, police officers, and firefighters)”, the men and women making a difference in the community. Through Matthews’ Mission, he is working to raise awareness for the YWCA's domestic violence programs. His grant will help Matthews’ Mission serve the community by benefiting the YWCA and MEND Nashville. Brenda Matthews
Johnny Maxey is currently a free agent defensive end who previously played for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Johnny spent most of his off-season doing what he did to become a member of the Steeler family. He starts his day with a workout, and before he goes to bed he works out again. He eats healthy and has shared with us his healthy eating habits as well as prepared meals for the family.
When the season first ended Johnny went back to New York to his old elementary school and spoke the students in one of his family member’s class and treated them with ice cream. He then came home to South Carolina and visited his niece’s kindergarten classroom where he spent the morning reading books to the students.
Before he went back to off-season workouts, he arranged to feed the football players at his old high school after summer practices. In between giving back to the community there's always family time. Johnny is the center of our lives. He's been participating in athletics since elementary school and we've traveled as a family to support his every competition and have enjoyed every trip.
Get out your Jerseys. Get your seasons tickets and don’t forget your airline reservations.
Remember to share with younger mothers and friends who have younger boys playing football to visit www.usafootball.com/heads-up.
Football season is here and it drives in with loads of excitement and festivities. Take time to enjoy the season have plenty of fun and soak it all in; it happens once a year.
See you in the stands, and may the best team make it to the grand stage of football – Super Bowl!
For more information on PFPMA-Profession Football Players Mothers Association visit www.pfpma.org.