Players from the NFL joined United Way professionals and youth from around the country at the United Way Youth Empowerment Summit hosted at American University on Monday. The three-day event engages participants in identifying opportunities to improve the academic success of students and create engagement opportunities for TEAM NFL members and supporters to recruit readers, tutors and mentors.

Representing the New York Jets will be D’Brickashaw Ferguson, who has been an all-star both on and off the field. Ferguson is very active in the community in his own right with the D’Brickashaw Ferguson Foundation, which aims to improve the quality of life for students by awarding academic scholarships to those deserving eligible scholars residing in the New York area.

“Youth involved in mentoring relationships have the opportunity to realize their full potential. Money alone won’t solve the education challenge,” said Ferguson. “Communities of support that give their time to advancing and empowering youth create a bright future for all Americans.”

Ferguson joins TEAM NFL, which is a volunteer group of college-educated civic-minded NFL players from across the league. Team members are committed to education opportunities and recruiting one million readers, tutors and mentors.

To learn more about TEAM NFL visit the link below:

www.unitedway.org/team-nfl

To learn more about the D’Brickashaw Ferguson Foundation click on the link below:

http://www.dbrickashawfergusonfoundation.org/