Jamey Rootes President Tony Wyllie Vice President, Communications Nicole Streeter Director, Community Development Executive Director, Houston Texans Foundation Risa Hall Manager, Community Relations Janess Sayle Manager, Houston Texans Foundation Kandyace Mayberry Administrative Assistant, Community Development Reliant Stadium a Two Reliant Park a Houston, TX 77054-1573 Houston Texans Community Impact Report 2007/2008: TEXANS CARE 3 Mission Statement 4 Strengthening Our Community 5 A Note From Our Chairman 6 Building Bridges To A Brighter Future 7 A Note From Our President 8 Texans Care 9-10 Strengthening Young Minds 11-12 Houston Texans And YMCA Strategic Partnership 13-14 Healthy Texans Healthy Community 15-16 Texans Keep Youth Moving 17-18 Texans Making A Way 19-20 Texans Contribute To Worthy Causes 21-22 Uniting Texans Through The United Way 23-24 Creating Memorable Experiences 25-26 Texans Create Raving Fans 27-28 Texans Promote The Power Of Green 29-30 Providing A Strong Foundation For Youth 31-33 Thank You M I SS I ON S TATe M e N T STRENGTHENING To be recognized as the most community-connected professional sports franchise in the world OUR COMMUNITY by deploying strategic, sustainable and equity-building initiatives that fully leverage the assets of our organization and deliver measurable community impact. This mission would not be achieved without the commitment and generosity of our corporate partners, donors, volunteers, and fans. Our sincere gratitude is extended to all as we look forward to continuing to making a lasting impact in the community. TeX AN S CA r e HOUSTON TEXANS | A NOTE FROM OUR CHAIRMAN Dear Friends: BUILDING BRIDGES The Houston Texans are dedicated to the motto Texans Care. We care about football and we care about our community. From the players, coaches and cheerleaders to our fans, corporate TO A BRIGHTER FUTURE sponsors and front office personnel, each person is committed to making a difference for Houston. We come together as family to assist where needed and leave a lasting impact. We hope you enjoy reading this 2007-2008 Texans Care Community Impact Report. It highlights some of the outstanding programs and activities of the Houston Texans. Our players, staff and supporters work hard each week to prepare for the challenging games each weekend and still make time to volunteer at schools, hospitals, youth clubs, senior citizen sites and homeless shelters. The Houston Texans care about inspiring good sportsmanship through the Youth Football Programs and good character through the Heart of a Champion school curriculum. They care about making a difference in the lives of young people and bringing hope and encouragement to all. Thank you for supporting the Houston Texans and the Texans Care campaign. It is through the support of loyal fans and partners such as yourselves that we are able to deliver the services to our community that are spotlighted in this publication. Thanks and Go Texans! Best regards, Mr. Robert C. McNair Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Houston Texans TeX AN S CA r e HOUSTON TEXANS | A NOTE FROM OUR PRESIDENT Dear Texans family, Our goal is to become recognized as the most community connected professional sports franchise in the world. We are committed to making a positive and lasting impact and we believe our efforts are making a difference for Houston and beyond. This Community Impact Report, Texans Care, highlights many of the service projects we have delivered for our community over the past year. I encourage you to take a few minutes to review the volunteer activities, educational programs and other initiatives that your Houston Texans have conducted throughout the region. We are proud to represent Houston in the National Football League and we are passionate about serving the community that supports us so well on Sundays during the fall and throughout the year. Thank you for the outstanding loyalty you have consistently shown our team. You provide us with a tremendous home field advantage and your backing is a key part of our game plan to make Houston a better place to live, work and play. Go Texans! Sincerely, Jamey Rootes President Houston Texans Page 9 | Community Impact Report 2007/2008 | H OU S TON TeX AN S H OU S TON TeX AN S | Community Impact Report 2007/2008 | Page 10 OUR COMMUNITY’S FUTURE School districts. The program provides NATIONAL LITERACY MONTH BEGINS WITH TODAY’S YOUTH, character building programs by utilizing To further ensure positive development AND EVERY CHILD POSSESSES real life stories that encourage youth of our city’s youth, the Houston Texans THE INHERENT PROMISE TO to integrate Commitment, Leadership, teamed-up with area Comcast employees BECOME A SUCCESSFUL Perseverance, Teamwork, Respect, to donate 1,800 books to the Boys and MEMBER OF OUR COMMUNITY. Integrity, Responsibility, Self-Control and Girls Club of Greater Houston in an effort to BY EXAMPLE, BOTH ON AND Compassion into their promote the importance of literacy. OFF THE FIELD, TEXANS lives. So far, we DEMONSTRATE CHARACTER. have reached JOIN THE TEAM: INTEGRATING BUSINESS STRENGTHENING THROUGH PROGRAMS over 7,000 AND SPORTS CAREER SEMINAR PROMOTING A MYRIAD OF middle school Now in its fourth year, the seminar features POSITIVE ATTRIBUTES, WE students. Our executives from the Texans front office and INVEST IN OPENING THE MIND success in other business personnel from the Houston TO LIMITLESS POSSIBILITY. impacting area. Approximately 150 college juniors CULTIVATING A LOVE OF the lives of and seniors interested in pursuing business LEARNING AT A YOUNG AGE IS so many careers in sports, representing at least YOUNG INTEGRAL TO THE CONTINUED youth is thirteen Texas universities, attended the free IMPROVEMENT OF OUR a result of seminar and internship workshop at Reliant COMMUNITY. our ongoing Stadium. partnership HEART OF A CHAMPION with the LEMONADE DAY The Heart of a Champion program Robert Lemonade Day is an annual city-wide event has been integrated into the and organized by Prepared 4 Life (P4L), a local MINDS Houston and Katy Independent Janice McNair non-profit organization that empowers Foundation and the Heart of a youth to become contributing members of Champion Foundation. society through asset-based, experiential after-school programs, and its many HISD CULTURAL ARTS POSTER CONTEST community partners. Businesses and In an effort to encourage creative minds families in all communities work together and cultural awareness through art, the to produce Lemonade Day, which is a fun, Texans launched a cultural arts poster family-oriented activity designed to train contest for middle school students in the thousands of young people on how to be Houston Independent School District. The successful entrepreneurs. students are required to create posters that incorporate various influences from the Asian/Pacific, Black, Hispanic and American Cultures. Contest winners receive Houston Texans memorabilia and have their artwork professionally framed. REWARDING EXCELLENCE Andre Johnson issued a challenge to fifth grade students at Bastian Elementary to improve their academic performance and school attendance. Upon hearing news of their success, Andre returned to reward the students with Texans memorabilia, $100 gift certificates to Toys “R” Us and a pizza party. Page 11 | Community Impact Report 2007/2008 | H OU S TON TeX AN S HOUSTON TEXANS AND YMCA STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP In 2007, the Houston Texans Foundation established a new strategic partnership with the YMCA of Greater Houston. With our new teammate in the community, we plan to develop well-rounded, educated and fit youth. The Houston Texans and the Greater Houston YMCA announced a partnership to open a new YMCA facility in the Palm Center community of Third Ward. The facility, located at the corner of Griggs Road and Martin Luther King Boulevard, will replace the existing South Central YMCA. The new Houston Texans YMCA will be the first YMCA facility in the country to be named after a professional sports team. The partnership combines two powerful and influential names that will benefit the Greater Third Ward community by providing programs that include health and wellness, childcare, recreation and youth development programs. “I have admired the work done by the YMCA since my childhood in North Carolina,” said Texans founder and CEO Bob McNair, noting that he first learned about organized football as a nine-year old at a Charlotte YMCA. “We are proud to be able to support an organization that promotes health and family values, and it gives me great pleasure to give back to a group that gave so much to me as a child.” Houston Texans head coach Gary Kubiak is another YMCA alumnus. “I grew up right across the street from the M.D. Anderson YMCA,” Kubiak said. “A lot of the things I learned in the sports world and growing up about how to be a good kid and how to be a good person really stem from my youth growing up there.” On hand for the announcement of the historic partnership was Quentin Mease, who has worked with the Greater Houston YMCA since 1948. Mease was instrumental in the 1955 building of the South Central YMCA, and was one of the leading African-American figures in Houston during the 1960s. “I was around when we opened South Central over there in 1955, so this is quite an achievement to have the building here now as its successor,” Mease said. “We hope that it will live up to the former Y branch there on Wheeler, and I’m sure that it will be quite an heirloom to the community.” In addition to being located a mere six miles from Reliant Stadium, the Houston Texans YMCA will be in close proximity to Third Ward schools, a library, a city bus stop, a new housing development and a new light rail route – a far more accessible location than the land-locked South Central YMCA on Wheeler Street.