For Every Touchdown Scored by Colorado Buffaloes, During Friday Night Lights, Proceeds Go Back to Miller Children's

Local Long Beach residents, Kurt Ehmann and Todd Eckenrode wanted to give back to the community where he had been living for more than 10 years and where they were raising their children. When they heard of the not-for-profit, For the Love of the Game, they felt it would be a great way to raise money for Miller Children’s Hospital Long Beach. After speaking with the founders of the organization and asking them if it would be okay to raise money for Miller Children’s, Kurt embarked on a fundraising campaign with their sons’ flag football team.

The concept behind the not-for-profit organization is to help children feel empowered to raise money through sponsorships for exemplary performance in their respective sports then give the proceeds to a worthy charity. Their goal is to help children and young adults build on their leadership skills, athletic performance and philanthropy with an aim to support organizations and initiatives that better their communities.

“A huge motivating factor for me was to have my kids experience philanthropy and emphasize the importance of giving back,” says Ehmann. “For the Love of the Game is a perfect avenue to achieve that goal. Miller Children’s is right in our backyards and my kids, or their friends, have been there at some point or another.”

This season will be the first season where their sons’ flag football team, the Colorado Buffaloes, will raise funds for Miller Children’s. The Colorado Buffaloes are part of the Los Alamitos/Seal Beach - Friday Night Lights youth flag football league, with ages ranging from kindergarten to seventh grade. Each player on the Buffaloes will approach friends, family and local businesses to ask them to sponsor them throughout the season; with each touchdown they score benefiting Miller Children’s.

“Even if we don’t raise millions of dollars for Miller Children’s, I wanted to create a life changing opportunity for our young children and their parents,” says Ehmann. “My vision is to get every team in Friday Night Lights to adopt, For the Love of the Game, and give back to their local community. But more importantly, I want them to experience the joy of giving and teach them the gift of giving back.”