In honor of Black History Month, the Los Angeles Chargers hosted two inspiring events for students from the team’s educational program, Bolt Academy, and youth athletes from the Snoop Youth Football League.
On February 15, youth athletes from the Snoop Youth Football League received a private guided tour of the Kinsey African American Art and History Collection Exhibition at SoFi Stadium. Following the exhibition, former Chargers player Kassim Osgood and the youth athletes participated in reading “Pigskins to Paintbrushes: The Story of Football-Playing Artist Ernie Barnes,” written by Don Tate. To further encourage the athletes’ reading journey, the Chargers gifted over 40 Amazon Kindles to each participant for easy access to books throughout the year.
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On February 17, students from Bolt Academy explored the immersive and interactive Hip-Hop America: The Mixtape Exhibit at the GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles and learned about various job opportunities within the music industry including producers, recording engineers, etc. Joined by Chargers CB Michael Davis, scholars immersed themselves in interactive stations where they showed their creativity through DJing, rapping and sampling some of Hip Hops greatest beats. They were also able to experience the cultural impact Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ had on the music industry and Shakira’s global impact on music and representation of Latin culture.
While February is designated as Black History Month, the Chargers remain committed to identifying meaningful ways to support communities through funding, volunteer opportunities, and impactful messaging year-round. This commitment is evident through their support on and off the field for youth athletes across Southern California. With an emphasis on mental health and well-being the team, in partnership with EverFi, invited two 13U teams from Snoop Youth Football League who were headed to the championship to a seminar developing their leadership abilities, character traits, and provided mental health awareness and resources.
Continuing to underscore the importance of providing an outlet to youth athletes, the team most recently, has partnered with music icon Snoop Dogg and NFL veteran wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh to launch the new Snoop and Housh Flag Football League that will kick off on March 8, 2024.
Through the Chargers’ Takeout Tuesday program, the team partnered with PepsiCo for the second year to support Black-owned and Hispanic-owned restaurants in Los Angeles through its Pepsi Dig In and Juntos Crecemos platforms. Chargers running back Joshua Kelley surprised three local restaurants with a $10,000 donation each and consumers were invited for free lunches at each spot, courtesy of Pepsi – all as part of the LA Chargers’ Takeout Tuesday which aims to raise awareness of the diverse restaurants that feed our local communities.
