HONOLULU (NFL) -- NFL Charities announced today the ten Hawaiian nonprofit organizations that will benefit from $100,000 in grant dollars designated for the Pro Bowl Grant Program

 The NFL Charities Board of Directors allocates grant money every year to Hawaiian nonprofits to be presented at the Pro Bowl. The organizations undergo a rigorous application process and must be focused on youth programming, education, and physical fitness.

 This year, a number of branches of the NFLÕs National Youth Football partners in the Hawaiian community have been awarded grant money, including the YMCA of Honolulu, the Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii, and Big Brothers Big Sister of Honolulu (BBBSH).

 · The YMCA of Honolulu will receive a $12,500 grant for their Palolo Project, a youth sports and tutoring program for disadvantaged children who live in public housing in Palolo Valley.

 · The Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii, who will receive a grant of $9,000, offers a Flag Football program that engages young people in activities with adults, peers, and family members to enable them to develop self-esteem and to reach their full potential.

 · BBBSH provides mentoring services to youth, ages 6 to 16, by matching them with responsible role models. BBBSH will receive $5,000 to expand its School-Based Mentoring program, which will be matched by Big Brothers Big Sister of America, bringing the grant total to $10,000.

 NFL Charities, created in 1973, is a non-profit organization created by the member clubs of the National Football League to enable the clubs to collectively make grants to charitable and worthwhile causes on the national level. Since its inception, NFL Charities has made more than $41 million in grant commitments to more than 250 different organizations.

 A complete list of winners follows.

 2001 Pro Bowl Grants Proposal Summaries

 1. YMCA OF HONOLULU, Palolo Project

 The YMCA of Honolulu requests funding for the Palolo Project, a youth sports and tutoring program for disadvantaged children who live in public housing in Palolo Valley. The program has a positive impact on the education and physical fitness of 400-600 children each year. The children, ranging in age from 5 to 14, are not charged for the program. The Palolo Project began in 1990 as a result of fatal gang violence on Palolo Valley. In order to provide positive activities for the youth in the Palolo Valley Homes, the YMCA started a youth sports program and opened a drop-in center for tutoring in reading. The youth sports component of the program offers basketball, volleyball, softball, and baseball. There are 400 involved in youth sports year-round, with another 200 participating seasonally in specific sports. The tutoring component offers a drop-in center that works with approximately 40 children each week to enhance their reading skills. Middle school students receive help with their homework during study halls before and after their sports practice sessions.

 Grant Amount: $12,500

 2. STRAUB FOUNDATION, Sports Fest Community Outreach Program

 The Straub Foundation is a public charity in 1983 by a group of physicians and business leaders in the community with a mission to improve the health of the people of Hawaii through research and education. Working closely with community-wide physicians, health professionals, and community agencies, the Foundation promotes health and wellness by organizing health education programs that meet the needs of the people of Hawaii. In 1997, the Foundation established a community outreach program to take its successful public education program on the road directly into disadvantaged communities.

 "Sports Day" is targeted to students from elementary school to high school and is part of the community outreach program. It is offered free to children and will take place on Saturday, May 26, 2001 at the Manoa District Park. Subject to budgetary considerations, the goal is to offer the program free to all participants. The sports activities will be fun and interactive, introducing students to a variety of physical activities from team sports (such as football, basketball, soccer, and baseball) to individual activities (such as walking/jogging, biking, gymnastics, dance, swimming, weightlifting, and aerobics). Additionally, participants will gain knowledge about proper exercise, conditioning techniques, appropriate training and fitness gear, nutrition and healthy cooking, and preventative safety measures to reduce the incidence of injury. Guest coaches and athletic trainers will conduct the sports clinics and there will be a panel of medical experts to answer questions from the crowd.

 Grant Amount: $7,500

 3. HAWAII HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION (HHSAA)

 The HHSAA is the governing body of high school athletics in Hawaii. As such the HHSAA oversees the athletic programming of 78 high schools throughout the state and their 30,000 student-athletes. Through the requested grant funding, the HHSAA hopes to: (1) increase participation in Hawaii high school football; (2) increase fan and media interest in football in general; and (3) improve the quality of HawaiiÕs high school football players, coaches, and officials.

 The grant will support the following activities: (1) HawaiiÕs state high school football championship playoffs; (2) Continuing education and training for high school football coaches through clinics, workshops, and seminars; and (3) Continuing education and training for high school football officials through clinics, workshops, and seminars.

 Grant Amount: $35,000

 4. BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF HAWAII, Flag Football Program

 The Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii offers program that engage young people in activities with adults, peers, and family members that enable them to develop self-esteem and to reach their full potential. Sports, fitness, and recreation programs develop fitness, positive use of leisure time, skills for stress management, and social and interpersonal skills. The Flag Football Program was established five years ago by an NFL Charities grant and is now a part of the Boys & Girls Club of HawaiiÕs Sports, Fitness and Recreation Core Program section. Flag football is planned and implemented with clinics, a league, a tutorial and education component, and SMART MOVES (a drug prevention curriculum). The program services two age groups: 7-11 year olds and 11-14 year olds. This past season, five of the six Clubhouses participated, with a total of 270 young people. Through this grant, the organization will continue to grow the program as well as to establish a mentoring program with the University of Hawaii Football Program which will further enhance and enlarge the current flag football program at the Clubhouses on Oahu and Kauai.

 Grant Amount: $9,000

 5. PARENTS AND CHILDREN TOGETHER, Community Teen Program

 Parents and Children Together (PACT) is a private family service agency recognized as a leader in the design and delivery of innovative social and educational services. PACTÕs mission is to promote and support healthy individuals, families, and communities by creating opportunities for them to identify and address their own strengths, needs and concerns, and successfully realize their potential. The Community Teen Program incorporates PACTÕs mission by promoting and supporting the development of healthy children and youth by creating opportunities for them to develop the necessary skills, competencies, behaviors, and attitudes that will empower them to make positive life choices in a caring, supportive environment. This grant will be used to hire two part-time staff members to continue an organized sports program to augment services already in place to the Teen Program. Activities planned include: League sports (football, basketball, baseball, volleyball; Sports clinics (to be used before each sport season as a kick-off and recruitment tool); Tennis and ocean sports; and Health / Fitness / Conditioning activities throughout.

 Grant Amount: $8,500

 6. YOUTH EDUCATION COMMITTEE (The Mediation Center of the Pacific, Inc.)

 2001 Statewide Peer Mediation Youth Conference

 The mission of the Youth Education Committee is to promote a culture of personal responsibility and peaceful problem solving among HawaiiÕs youth. Specifically, the CommitteeÕs goals are to create a common understanding of the nature of conflict and community and to incorporate the teaching of conflict resolution skills into HawaiiÕs educational institutions. The grant will be used to conduct the 2001 Statewide Peer Mediation Conference. The conference will provide support for student mediators and peer mediation programs that are instrumental in reducing violence in HawaiiÕs schools and promoting a culture of peaceful problem solving among island students. It also serves to encourage leadership among students. This will be the fourth statewide peer mediation conference organized by the Committee. The conference, like the previous conferences, is unique in that all of the workshops and presentations are coordinated and conducted by the students. Teachers and adult community volunteers provide support and guidance as needed, but the students are solely responsible for providing the theme, content, and presenters. It is open to all Hawaii intermediate, middle, and high school peer mediators.

 Grant Amount: $5,000

 7. SPECIAL OLYMPICS HAWAII, The "Training for Life Program" and the "Athlete Leadership Program"

 The mission of Special Olympics Hawaii is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for all children and adults with mental retardation, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy, and participate in the sharing of gifts, skills, and friendships with their families, other Special Olympics athletes, and the community. This grant will support two distinct programs. The "Training For Life Program" is an incentive program designed to raise the level of fitness of individuals with mental retardation in Hawaii. Participants are given incentives to reach different levels of fitness. When an athlete achieves his goal, maintenance awards will be implemented to keep him motivated and involved. Recruitment of athletes is primarily through special education teachers, adult programs, and family members. Fitness testing will take place at the statewide Summer and Winter competitions. The "Athlete Leadership Program" motivates athletes and coaches to learn new skills that will prepare them to play an active role ion the leadership and vision of Special Olympics Hawaii. In this program, athletes and coaches will be trained to hold council meetings with their delegations to obtain direct feedback from other participating athletes regarding ideas, questions, sports offered, and any other changes they would like to see in the program. All 9 Athlete Councils will form an Athlete Congress at the Athlete Leadership Conference in October 2001. This Congress will vote to determine the next issues to be placed on the agenda for the Conference the next year.

 Grant Amount: $8,000

 8. BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF HONOLULU, INC., School-Based Mentoring Services

 Big Brothers Big Sisters of Honolulu (BBBSH) provides mentoring services to youth, ages 6 to 16, by matching them with responsible role models. Each one-to-one relationship, or Ōmatch,Õ is between an elementary school child, usually from a single-parent home, and a volunteer mentor. BBBSH is requesting financial support to expand its School-Based Mentoring program from 200 children served in 2000 to 300 children in 2001. For the 2000-2001 school year, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America will provide a dollar-for-dollar match to all grant monies received for school-based programs up to $20,000. The program is unique in that it combines the development of a personal relationship, based on friendship, with academic assistance. Once assigned, the pairs meet weekly to spend time together doing schoolwork and building their relationship through recreation and conversation. As the pairs develop mutual trust, each childÕs behavior and academic performance improve. In the short-term, the program helps children develop greater self-esteem, a positive attitude about school, and the motivation to continue achieving academically for years to come.

 Grant Amount: $5,000 (Big Brothers Big Sisters of America will match the grant)

 9. ADULT FRIENDS FOR YOUTH

 There are over 90 youth gangs with 1500-2000 members on Oahu alone. Adult Friends for Youth (AFY) has developed a successful cutting edge rehabilitation model for young people that were involved with gangs. In 2000-2001, AFY will actively work with seven gangs, five schools, and 14 teen parents. Staff will work with approximately 350 clients per month in 135 group and individual counseling sessions. AFYÕs rehabilitation approach has demonstrated that it is the best hope yet for reducing and eliminating youth gang participation and all of the ills attached to it, including violence, crime, and drug use. The Redirectional Method focuses on working with youth gangs as natural friendship groups and works with them as whole entities. These groups begin to accept the rewards and benefits of socially acceptable endeavors, including jobs and higher education. Constructive behaviors replace destructive behaviors, and adult criminal behavior is prevented. This grant will support the organizationÕs gang and troubled youth programs. These include gang services, school therapy, and teen parent services. Additionally, the support would be used to further the knowledge building efforts as the organization continues to work on its second book that outlines the application of the rehabilitation method generically.

 Grant Amount: $2,000

 10. PREVENT CHILD ABUSE HAWAII, Hey Coach! Program

 The mission of Prevent Child Abuse Hawaii is to prevent child abuse through education, public awareness, and advocacy, which promote positive parenting and healthy families where children are valued and loved. The focus is primary prevention of child abuse, that is, designing programs for the public rather than targeting high risk groups or those where abuse has already occurred. The organizationÕs activities involve providing parents, caregivers, and coaches with the support and skills they need to do their role as effectively as possible. The Hey Coach! Program fulfills this mission through the education of coaches who work with children ages six to 16, on positive coaching techniques with the desired outcome of preventing verbal and emotional abuse of youth athletes which further increases the likelihood of youth remaining in coached athletics and becoming healthy adults. The program explains the ideas of respect, encouragement, support, praise, commendation, and discipline within the context of coaching. Approximately 500 volunteer and paid coaches receive this training annually. This grant will be used to update the current Hey Coach! Program and purchase new positive coaching videos and pamphlets for use in the program. By updating the program, the organization will be able to increase the number of coaches trained.

 Grant Amount: $7,500