Since 2007, the Dallas Cowboys have partnered with the NFL to promote PLAY 60, a national youth health and wellness campaign focused on ending childhood obesity by encouraging kids to eat nutritiously and be active at least 60 minutes of every day. Did you know that one in three children are overweight or obese in the United States? The Cowboys and the NFL are committed to ending this epidemic and have brought together a number of impressive partner organizations—like the National Dairy Council, the American Heart Association and The Cooper Institute—to provide programming wherein any student, educator, parent or community member can participate and make a difference.

Dallas Cowboys PLAY 60 Programs:

• Fuel Up to Play 60 is a free and fun nutrition and physical activity program that empowers students to take charge of their health by making small, everyday changes within their schools. Created by the NFL and the National Dairy Council, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the program includes grant opportunities for schools, a Playbook with strategies for healthy eating and physical activity, a student ambassador program and more. Is your school a Fuel Up to Play 60 School? Find out how to enroll and join the 73,000 schools nationwide making long-term, healthy changes for their students by clicking here: Fuel Up to Play 60

  

   
• The Cowboys are proud to partner with the American Heart Association to launch the PLAY 60 Challenge Powered by Reliant at a local school every fall. The PLAY 60 Challenge is a six-week program that “challenges” students to ensure they’re getting 60 minutes of exercise each day by logging their activity in the Game Planner. The program relies on the participation of teachers to promote physical activity within the classroom and provides ideas for incorporating fitness in everyday learning in the Teacher Guide. Students and schools may take the PLAY 60 Challenge anytime by downloading the free materials here: PLAY 60 Challenge

  

• The Cowboys team up with The Cooper Institute—a worldwide leader in preventative medicine research—to provide North Texas schools and community organizations with PLAY 60 FITNESSGRAM materials. Developed in 1982 by The Cooper Institute, FITNESSGRAM is the premiere assessment tool to measure student fitness and nutrition levels. The NFL Foundation has entered into a three-year, $2.2 million partnership with The Cooper Institute to support FITNESSGRAM and its effort to evaluate youth health and wellness and provide parents with the knowledge they need to support positive behavior changes. Click here to learn more: PLAY 60 FITNESSGRAM
  

  

• With assistance from partner GlaxoSmithKline, the Cowboys have installed five Dallas Cowboys PLAY 60 Fitness Zones in the North Texas area. The unique spaces feature fitness equipment made especially for adolescent users as well as interactive gaming systems like Kinect for XBOX 360 designed to get kids up and moving.
  

  

• PLAY 60 Super School is a contest launched during the NFL’s Back to Football month. Schools compete by submitting three essays describing how they will encourage teachers and students to show their Cowboys pride, incorporate football in their lesson plans and implement the PLAY 60 philosophy and programming into their academic year. A winning school is selected from each NFL team market and awarded a $10,000 grant to improve health and wellness programming and equipment. Tight end Jason Witten congratulated the Cowboys’ 2013 PLAY 60 Super School—Rasor Elementary School in Plano, Texas—with a pep rally, check presentation and outdoor fitness clinic for a few lucky students.

  

• The Cowboys work with The Salvation Army each year to select 11 deserving youth for the Dallas Cowboys PLAY 60 Team. The 11 team members are chosen based on their commitment to PLAY 60, as well as their demonstration of the Army’s five core values: Passion, Compassion, Bravery, Uplifting Spirit and Trustworthiness. Linebacker DeMarcus Ware honored the 2013 PLAY 60 Team with a special recognition ceremony at Valley Ranch, and the youth were also invited to be the Cowboys’ special guests at their home game at A&T Stadium on Thanksgiving Day.
  

  

• Since 1999, the Cowboys have partnered with the NFL to support the United Way through a nationwide day of community service called Hometown Huddle. During the 2013 Hometown Huddle event, Cowboys players presented Frisco ISD’s Anderson Elementary School with a $2,500 grant on behalf of the Gene and Jerry Jones Family Foundation for new fitness equipment before running students through a special PLAY 60 outdoor clinic. Boys & Girls Clubs of Arlington was also presented with a $2,500 grant to expand its health and wellness programming.