Please replace the release dated May 7, 2019 with the following
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U.S. WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM (SOCCER) PLAYERS ASSOCIATION, LINKEDIN CEO
JEFF WEINER, AND EVERFI PARTNER TO LAUNCH THE COMPASSION PROJECT
Digital Education Initiative Provides Avenue to Expand Players
Association Social Impact Mission
The U.S. Women’s National Team Players Association (USWNTPA), LinkedIn
CEO Jeff Weiner, and social impact education innovator EVERFI, Inc.
today joined the students of Santee Elementary School in San Jose to
launch The
Compassion Project for the 2019-2020 school year.
A national nonprofit dedicated to providing compassion education to
elementary school students across the U.S., The Compassion Project is a
collaboration between Weiner, the visionary behind the project, and
EVERFI. The compassion curriculum combines engaging animated videos,
classroom-based lessons, and digital activities to help teachers
facilitate lessons around fundamental social and emotional learning
(SEL) skills.
As the first partner of The Compassion Project, the USWNTPA is making
the program available at no cost to schools in six select markets as
part of an initial launch phase, beginning in fall 2019. The USWNTPA
believes in advancing skills that lead to good character both on and off
the field. Whether standing up for diversity, women’s rights, LGBTQ
issues, and equal pay, the players have a track record of being socially
aware and active in the community. The team recognizes the role of
compassion, a positive attitude, and teamwork in creating a winning
team, something they are focused on as they prepare for the upcoming
World Cup.
The leading provider of education for the real world, EVERFI has been
providing scalable solutions for critical life skills since 2008.
Partnering with EVERFI on The Compassion Project is a natural
progression of the work the USWNTPA is already known for and brings
together well-known entities focused on leaving a positive mark on
society.
“The USWNTPA and its Soccer+Social Impact committee are committed to
educating and empowering today’s youth, who will be the leaders and role
models of tomorrow,” said McCall Zerboni, member of the U.S. Women’s
National Team Players Association Soccer+Social Impact Committee.
“The Compassion Project embodies the mission of the USWNTPA’s
Soccer+Social Impact committee by teaching children about compassion,
something we recognize as critical to our own growth as individuals, but
even more importantly, to our growth and success as a team,” added Tobin
Heath, another member of the U.S. Women’s National Team Players
Association Soccer+Social Impact Committee.
“Expanding the Players Association Soccer+Social Impact committee is
something our members have been committed to for a long time and we
couldn’t think of a better partner than EVERFI,” said Becca Roux,
Executive Director for the U.S. Women’s National Team Players
Association. “We value their emphasis on developing curriculums that
focus on critical skills, and even more their commitment to partnering
on a curriculum that aligns with the mission and goals of our
Soccer+Social Impact strategy. We’re looking forward to seeing The
Compassion Project launched in schools throughout 2019, with the goal
that this becomes a much broader opportunity for students in the future.”
Today’s event is the official kick-off of the larger national initiative
and includes current National Team members, prior to their departing to
compete at the Women’s World Cup in France this Summer. National Team
members including Becky Sauerbrunn, Sam Mewis, and Kelley O’Hara, will
be joined by USWNT alumni such as Aly Wagner and Danielle Slaton. Event
attendees will participate in a unique classroom activity with National
Team members and Weiner that features students creating skits
demonstrating that they have learned how to identify an opportunity for
compassion and take an action to show compassion to themselves or
another.
“Today’s event is a perfect illustration of the vision that EVERFI and
the USWNTPA had in mind when we committed to this partnership,” said
Becky Sauerbrunn, member of the U.S. Women’s National Team Players
Association Soccer+Social Impact Committee. “We, as players, are excited
to show up in schools and use our platform to remind young students that
whether it’s competing at the highest level of sport, performing in
school, or just being a positive member of your community, it’s never
too early to start practicing compassion.”
Research has shown that students exposed to Social Emotional Learning
(SEL) in school continue to do better than their peers on a number of
indicators: positive social behaviors and attitudes, skills such as
empathy and teamwork, and academic achievement. These students also have
fewer conduct problems, less emotional distress, and lower drug use,
among many other benefits.1
“As parents, educators, and citizens, we want our children to grow up in
a kinder, more compassionate world, and that starts with early education
on Social Emotional Learning topics such as compassion,” explained Jon
Chapman, Co-Founder and President of EVERFI. “Compassion involves the
coordinated response of a lot of skills that positively affect student
well-being — mindfulness, self-care, emotional literacy, kindness.
These skills are also important for student self-regulation and
cooperation, which lead to better learning environments.”
The Compassion Project curriculum is developed in accordance with CASEL
Social and Emotional Learning standards, as well as Common Core and
State ELA Standards. It was developed by Washington, D.C.-based EVERFI,
the critical skills education leader that has certified more than 20
million learners in 20,000 schools.
Starting in the Fall of 2019, USWNT Player Ambassadors will begin
hosting events in local schools in six cities throughout the U.S. to
reinforce the national initiative on a local level, where they live and
play as part of the USWNTPA Social Impact mission.
About The Compassion Project
The Compassion Project was founded by LinkedIn
CEO Jeff Weiner in collaboration with EVERFI Inc., a social impact
education technology innovator. The Compassion Project is a national
nonprofit dedicated to providing compassion education to elementary
school students across the U.S. via curriculum focused on fundamental
social and emotional learning (SEL) skills building. Lessons are
uniquely designed around defining empathy and compassion, identifying
emotions, performing acts of kindness, and practicing mindfulness and
growth mindset. More than 9,700 teachers across 6,400 elementary schools
have signed on to use the curriculum since its launch in September 2018.
About EVERFI, Inc.
EVERFI is the pioneer in education solutions uniquely addressing social
impact issues. The company provides learners of all ages education for
the real world through scalable digital learning platforms. Founded in
2008, EVERFI is fueled by its Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) subscription
model and has certified over 30 million learners with more than 3,500
partners across 50 states, Canada, and Puerto Rico. EVERFI tackles
society’s most important intractable issues through the power of
education and as the convener of thought leadership consortiums
including the Financial Capability Network, Prescription Drug Safety
Network, Campus Prevention Network, and the Digital Wellness Network.
Some of America’s leading CEOs and venture capital firms are EVERFI
investors including Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, Google Chairman
Eric Schmidt, Twitter founder Evan Williams, Advance Publications,
Rethink Education, and Rethink Impact. To learn more about EVERFI visit everfi.com
or follow us on Facebook,
Instagram,
LinkedIn
or Twitter
@EVERFI.
About the U.S. Women’s National Team Players Association
The U.S. Women’s National Team Players Association (USWNTPA) serves as a
leading advocate for women’s soccer players, pioneering a new era of
women’s soccer as a preeminent sport. The primary mission of the USWNTPA
is to protect the rights of USWNT players and to advance and safeguard
the economic and social welfare of all USWNT players, both on and off
the field. The USWNTPA is committed to raising the level of women’s
soccer domestically and continuing to grow the game worldwide.
1 Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional
Learning (CASEL)
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