Pep Rallies with a Purpose…

Pep Rallies with a Purpose…

Fearless Football Brings Hometown Pride, Help to Communities

arkansasbluecross.com LITTLE ROCK — Eight teams are kick starting the 2016 high school football in grand style while making a difference in their hometowns next week as Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield partners with Hooten’s Arkansas Football to present the 2016 Kickoff Classic.

Teams were selected by Hooten’s Arkansas Football to play in the high school football showcase, based in part on their 2015 football season record and for a promising 2016 season. The 2016 teams come from Centerpoint, England, Hamburg, Little Rock’s McClellan, McCrory, Mount Ida and Sheridan in Arkansas and Dallas Episcopal in Texas.

“We are proud to partner with Arkansas Blue Cross in the 17th year of this event,” said Chris Hooten, president of Hooten Publishing, Inc. “We are thrilled to have a title sponsor that sees beyond gameday, that is investing in the communities of our participating teams.”

In the weeks leading up to the games, Arkansas Blue Cross hosted Pep Rallies with a Purpose. Each community was invited for a pre-game celebration and featured a pre-rally community service activity with each school. Through Pack Shack, Inc., Arkansas Blue Cross funded the cost to supply 10,000 meals for local food pantries in communities for each participating team in Arkansas. More than 75,000 meals were packed and distributed to hunger relief organizations.

“The heartbeat of our company is serving Arkansans,” said Curtis Barnett, Arkansas Blue Cross president- and CEO-elect. “We believe that this sponsorship is more than a logo on a program.

“We wanted to make a little deeper investment in the Arkansas communities where these students, coaches, sponsors, teachers and administrators, parents and other folks live, learn, work and play,” Barnett continued.

“Our hope is that when the games are in the record books, the shelves are stocked at the food banks so folks in these communities fear less about their next meal. More than 15 community food pantries serving thousands of Arkansas families benefited from the hard work of these students and faculty. They should be proud.”

In addition to providing meals, Arkansas Blue Cross donated $1,500 to the school’s parent/teacher organization or booster club to support student activities throughout the year. “We know these school organizations will invest their donation in ways that help the students learn and live healthy lives,” said Barnett.

From Ark. Blue Cross & Blue Shield