NFL shatters goal of 100 million volunteer minutes

Roger Goodell's goal as part of the NFL's celebration of its 100th season was to reach 100 million minutes of volunteerism.That objective was shattered the way the Kansas City Chiefs overcome playoff deficits.

More than 300 million minutes were volunteered in connection with the campaign, which equates to 586 years worth of volunteer time.Way more than half those minutes, 1.88 million, were performed by NFL teams, players, coaches and cheerleaders, plus league staff members.

In all, there were 108 events organized by teams featuring more than 1,000 volunteers. The 32 teams organized more than 1,250 community events.

And national huddles organized by the league supported hunger; youth health and wellness; community improvement and clean-up; cancer awareness and prevention; and military and veterans support. A total of 5,260 volunteers contributed 435,800 minutes through these national events.More than 300 nonprofit and community organizations benefited.

Events occurred in all 50 states.

“When we started the 100th season, we wanted to celebrate our history, of course,” the NFL commissioner said. "But we also wanted to celebrate giving back so our communities. So we asked everybody in the NFL family to give 100 minutes back into their community.

“We set a goal of 100 million minutes across our entire family and I'm happy to announce that in the last few days, we exceeded 300 million minutes.”The Baltimore Ravens organized the largest single-day huddle, a citywide day of service which mobilized 22,989 volunteers for a total of 3,703,300 minutes of service.

In total, more than 31,250 back-to-school or care packages were packed and donated throughout the campaign. That total will reach 35,000 this weekend. More than 1,000 Thanksgiving meals were packed and distributed to families in need and 12,400 toy items were collected and donated to children for the holidays.

On Thursday, Goodell oversaw the reveal of a newly refurbished field at Gwen Cherry Park, was followed by an NFL Huddle for 100 event. The NFL partnered with Miami-Dade Parks, Recreation & Open Spaces, along with The Mission Continues, to beautify and revitalize areas surrounding the park and community center. Volunteers participated in activities including mulching, gardening, bench building and painting. Students in attendance participated in a PLAY 60 clinic on the newly refurbished field.

(Image Credit: AP)