Are you ready for some football?? I am!
I'm not really a winter person, but my favorite part of this season has to be football (Go Packers!). And if you know football, you know John Madden. If you don't know football, but you have young children who play video games, you still might have heard of John Madden because your kids play his Madden '08 video game. My son does!
John Madden isn't all about football though. He's about giving back and raising money. He's teamed with Outback Steakhouse to set $1 million as the fundraising goal for a new charity campaign centered on the Outback Steakhouse Madden Cruiser, which carries the NBC football analyst to NFL games throughout the season.
The campaign, dubbed Outback Steakhouse Madden Miles, will directly benefit two children's charities - the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). Outback Steakhouse will kick-off the campaign's "Drive to a Million" by guaranteeing $200,000 to the initiative, based upon a $10 donation for each of the estimated 20,000 miles the famed vehicle will travel from one NFL stadium to the next this season.
In addition, Outback Steakhouse will work with the two charities to advertise the campaign, stage fund-raising events in local cities and host a website (http://www.blogger.com/www.outback.com/maddenmiles) to make it easy for NFL fans to participate.
"As I spend hours on the Outback Steakhouse Madden Cruiser this season it will give me great joy to know that every mile we travel will mean more money for the kids," said Madden. "I am also excited about the opportunity to raise awareness as we all band together and join in the fight against these debilitating diseases."
NFL fans in Chicago, Denver and Dallas attended Outback Steakhouse Madden Miles Parties when their local teams were featured on NBC's Football Night in America on October 7, October 21 and November 4 respectively.>
The Outback Steakhouse Madden Cruiser has become a familiar and welcome site along the nation's highways and country roads since Madden stopped traveling by airplane in 1979. The 45-foot-long luxury cruiser features high speed internet access, satellite radio, three flat-screen plasma televisions, a full granite kitchen, two bathrooms, a steam shower, guest bunks, and in Madden's sleeping quarters at the back of the cruiser, a queen bed. Madden spends much of his time on the bus reviewing game tapes, reading and researching on the internet. The Cruiser holds 200 gallons of diesel fuel and can travel coast to coast in 50 hours with two drivers.
About the Charities
The Muscular Dystrophy Association is a voluntary health agency -- a dedicated partnership between scientists and concerned citizens aimed at conquering neuromuscular diseases that affect more than a million Americans. The Association's programs are funded almost entirely by individual private contributors. For more information, go to www.mda.org
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International is the leading charitable funder and advocate of type 1 (juvenile) diabetes research worldwide.The mission of JDRF is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research. For more information on JDRF please visit www.jdrf.org.
Get involved!
Lisa
I'm not really a winter person, but my favorite part of this season has to be football (Go Packers!). And if you know football, you know John Madden. If you don't know football, but you have young children who play video games, you still might have heard of John Madden because your kids play his Madden '08 video game. My son does!
John Madden isn't all about football though. He's about giving back and raising money. He's teamed with Outback Steakhouse to set $1 million as the fundraising goal for a new charity campaign centered on the Outback Steakhouse Madden Cruiser, which carries the NBC football analyst to NFL games throughout the season.
The campaign, dubbed Outback Steakhouse Madden Miles, will directly benefit two children's charities - the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). Outback Steakhouse will kick-off the campaign's "Drive to a Million" by guaranteeing $200,000 to the initiative, based upon a $10 donation for each of the estimated 20,000 miles the famed vehicle will travel from one NFL stadium to the next this season.
In addition, Outback Steakhouse will work with the two charities to advertise the campaign, stage fund-raising events in local cities and host a website (http://www.blogger.com/www.outback.com/maddenmiles) to make it easy for NFL fans to participate.
"As I spend hours on the Outback Steakhouse Madden Cruiser this season it will give me great joy to know that every mile we travel will mean more money for the kids," said Madden. "I am also excited about the opportunity to raise awareness as we all band together and join in the fight against these debilitating diseases."
NFL fans in Chicago, Denver and Dallas attended Outback Steakhouse Madden Miles Parties when their local teams were featured on NBC's Football Night in America on October 7, October 21 and November 4 respectively.>
The Outback Steakhouse Madden Cruiser has become a familiar and welcome site along the nation's highways and country roads since Madden stopped traveling by airplane in 1979. The 45-foot-long luxury cruiser features high speed internet access, satellite radio, three flat-screen plasma televisions, a full granite kitchen, two bathrooms, a steam shower, guest bunks, and in Madden's sleeping quarters at the back of the cruiser, a queen bed. Madden spends much of his time on the bus reviewing game tapes, reading and researching on the internet. The Cruiser holds 200 gallons of diesel fuel and can travel coast to coast in 50 hours with two drivers.
About the Charities
The Muscular Dystrophy Association is a voluntary health agency -- a dedicated partnership between scientists and concerned citizens aimed at conquering neuromuscular diseases that affect more than a million Americans. The Association's programs are funded almost entirely by individual private contributors. For more information, go to www.mda.org
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International is the leading charitable funder and advocate of type 1 (juvenile) diabetes research worldwide.The mission of JDRF is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research. For more information on JDRF please visit www.jdrf.org.
Get involved!
Lisa