What We Do
Covering Kids & Families


In 2007, for the third consecutive year, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) engaged the Sports Philanthropy Project (SPP) to serve as sports outreach consultants for the campaign.  This cause-marketing initiative aims to reduce the number of eligible, uninsured children and adults through enrollment in free and low cost insurance programs.  RWJF understands that educating and communicating with the sports community, and strategically leveraging the power of professional sports to promote their message, can be a vital component of the campaign.

In 2005, SPP secured a partnership with Major League Soccer (MLS) and D.C. United stars Freddy Adu and Jaime Moreno served as the national sports spokespeople for the campaign. 

In 2006, SPP secured the commitment of Major League Soccer (MLS) for the second straight year as a national campaign partner, as well as the direct participation of all twelve MLS teams in the campaign.  In addition to the MLS partnership, in 2006 SPP also facilitated team and athlete participation in target markets across the country that hosted national launch events.  This included securing athlete spokespeople for the event and garnering up team support at each site. 

In 2007, SPP once again leveraged its partnership with MLS to secure the participation of all twelve MLS teams in the campaign, and to distribute promotional materials and/or air public service announcements at MLS games and MLS-sponsored events in each of the twelve MLS markets. 

Overall, this innovative MLS partnership has helped the campaign reach more than 1.8 million people. Teaming up with the premier professional soccer league in the country afforded our client a tremendous and unique opportunity to reach out to soccer fans nationwide, in order to encourage healthy lifestyles and to help get kids the health care coverage they need.

Major League Soccer is a proud partner in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s efforts to connect eligible, uninsured kids with available health care coverage. The campaign takes place in August and September and features thousands of events and activities across the country designed to demonstrate demand for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and to get eligible uninsured children enrolled.

For the third year in a row, Major League Soccer teams educated families about low-cost or free health coverage that may be available for their children, by running ads in game programs, playing Back-to-School PSAs during halftime, and distributing informational materials to families at games. For more information, or to learn how you can get involved with the Back-to-School Campaign, please visit www.CoverTheUninsured.org.




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