The NFL, New Orleans Saints and United Way's Hometown Huddle is a league-wide day of service designed to bring awareness and impact to the issues of youth health and wellness.

This year, the Saints and United Way of Southeast Louisiana are creating a state-of-the-art indoor fitness room, where all K-8 students at Wilson Charter School will have an opportunity to stay healthy and combat childhood obesity, as well as a creative arts/digital media education room.

The Saints have redesigned and re-imagined two spaces at Wilson Charter, purchasing new fitness equipment, a computer, camcorder and educational software programs for children to exercise and learn in a fun, engaging way. 

Saints Legends Deuce McAllister, Michael Lewis and Tyrone Hughes interacted with Wilson Charter School students Tuesday, Oct. 20 through a variety of football and health motivating stations.  They taught sixth – eighth grade students how to use their new equipment to exercise their bodies and their minds.

The players spoke about the experience at Wilson Charter School being great because getting kids moving and having fun is important.

"I always say being a player and also being retired and being from here, the most important thing is the community," Lewis said, "Why not go out and support the community and do things in the community, to let them know that I'm not just here to play football, I'm here to make a positive impact in the community as well."

United Way values its partnership in the community with the Saints. 

"We are thrilled to be here today and to continue working with the New Orleans Saints to help children and our communities thrive," said Michael Williamson, president and CEO, United Way of Southeast Louisiana. "The United Way and NFL partnership is the longest running partnership in history between a major sports league and a nonprofit organization. The NFL and United Way have a 40-plus year history of positively impacting communities. We are extremely excited to include an educational space in this year's project, as United Way of Southeast Louisiana is focused on investing in educational opportunities for children as a way to move individuals out of poverty."

 About United Way of Southeast Louisiana

United Way of Southeast Louisiana serves seven parishes including Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa and Washington. Through generous donations we are able to support 113 vital programs in Southeast Louisiana that helped people over 480,000 times in our region. And with a focus on Education, Health and Economic Opportunity as the key building blocks to move individuals and families out of poverty, we strategically fund programs, support collaborations, convene experts, advocate for change and foster new and needed community services to address the issues based on best practices. For more information, please visit www.unitedwaysela.org or call (504) 822-5540. You can find us at www.facebook.com/UnitedWayNola or follow us on twitter: @UnitedWaySELA. Please join our movement.