Carolina Hurricanes, Carolina Panthers and United Way of Central Carolinas Support EVERFI’s EduCup Challenge, Bringing Together Six Major Sports Leagues and United Way Worldwide

Regional challenge to encourage student learning and engagement while schools are closed

 

The Carolina Hurricanes, Carolina Panthers and United Way of Central Carolinas are announcing their support of the first-of-its-kind EduCup Challenge for students who are homebound during the COVID-19 pandemic. Developed by social impact education innovator EVERFI, the Challenge brings together six major sports leagues and NFL partner, United Way Worldwide.

 

Alongside Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, National Football League in partnership with United Way Worldwide, National Hockey League in partnership with the National Hockey League Players’ Association, National Lacrosse League and the Premier League, EVERFI brings the EduCup Challenge to K-12 students throughout the U.S. and Canada.

 

The Carolina Hurricanes, Carolina Panthers and United Way of Central Carolinas are supporting and encouraging K-12 students in the Carolinas during the Challenge timeframe, May 18-29.

 

About the EduCup Challenge

 

The EduCup Challenge is a two-week competition encouraging students to engage in learning and healthy habits as learned through EVERFI courses and showcased through daily social media challenges. Students have the opportunity to experience the digital courses co-created by EVERFI and the professional sports leagues and submit responses to various prompts in order to be eligible to win an academic scholarship or other prizes.

 

The regional competition features courses that appeal to students from kindergarten to 12th grade and will highlight several courses developed directly with the leagues. Each league brings a uniquely developed, curriculum-aligned resource to students and parents as the foundation of the challenge.

 

• Major League Baseball – Summer Slugger focuses on math and literacy skills for upper elementary school students
• Major League Soccer – Actions Matter addresses leadership development and bullying prevention for middle and high school students
• National Football League and United Way Worldwide – Character Playbook aims to build character education and foster healthy relationships for upper middle and high school students
• National Hockey League and National Hockey League Players’ Association – Hockey Scholar teaches Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) skills for middle school students and Healthier Me educates upper elementary students on making smart health and wellness decisions
• National Lacrosse League – NLL Digital Scholars includes digital citizenship for middle school students and mental wellness for high school students
• Premier League – Premier League Primary Stars USA includes Ignition, a digital literacy curriculum for middle school students, as well as Compassion Project, a unique program that teaches empathy and compassion and Healthier Me – Elementary School Health Curriculum, both for elementary school students.

 

The EduCup Challenge divides students by region based on their geographic location – north, east, south and west. Students are encouraged to complete as many of the league-sponsored programs as possible within the two-week competition period. Once they have taken a course, students will have the opportunity to answer questions or submit a picture for certain curricula related to their educational experience. During the competition, each region will seek to have the most students complete the educational programming.

 

Carolina Panthers tight end Chris Manhertz was designated as an EduCup Challenge Captain for Team South based on his exciting engagement with the NFL Character Playbook program and his social media promotion of this initiative.

 

In addition to completing courses, students are invited to participate in a social media challenge to share their progress. New challenges will be shared on Instagram and Twitter and the EduCup Challenge website daily, with each league having a specific day to present their challenge to students based on the program they sponsor through EVERFI.

 

To participate in the EduCup Challenge, students will visit www.educupchallenge.com, log in to their school, and complete the courses that are sponsored by the participating leagues. Students will also have the opportunity to compete for one of four $2,500 academic scholarships or a tablet or laptop computer. EVERFI will name one region as the EduCup Challenge winner, based on the region that has the most student participation in the digital courses. The winners of the scholarships and computers will be selected based on submissions from students within the winning region.

 

Supporting Quotes

 

Clint Hill, Chief Development Officer, United Way of Central Carolinas

“We have proudly partnered with the Carolina Panthers and EVERFI for the past four years to bring character education into our local schools through Character Playbook. We’re excited to continue this partnership by supporting the inaugural EduCup Challenge, which is providing students an opportunity to keep their minds sharp and learn to be positive leaders in their schools and neighborhoods.”

 

Riley Fields, Director of Community Relations, Carolina Panthers

“The Carolina Panthers are pleased to partner in the EduCup Challenge with EVERFI, United Way chapters, and school districts in North and South Carolina to provide this unique remote learning experience for students. Our two-state region is a league leader in NFL Character Playbook engagement and we encourage students to actively participate in the EduCup Challenge.”

 

Shane Willis, Manager of Youth & Amateur Hockey, Carolina Hurricanes

“The Carolina Hurricanes and the Carolina Hurricanes Foundation have always put an emphasis on reading and education with our young fans in our community. With students at their laptops daily, having to learn from home during this pandemic and also missing seeing their favorite team in action, the Future Goals program and the EduCup Challenge gives them the best of both worlds by learning online with Canes Hockey and EVERFI.”

 

Jon Chapman, Founder and President, EVERFI

“Sports leagues have a long history of working with EVERFI to provide educational opportunities to students. As schools around the world began to close as a result of COVID-19, these leagues were leading from the front ensuring that students had access to important educational courses. The EduCup Challenge supports youth education and engages students in a little friendly competition to inspire and motivate them through online education.”

Source: UWCC News
Date: May 26, 2020