Bridgestone Partners with Play Like a Girl!® to Launch Girls Flag Football and STEM Initiatives with Five Professional Football Teams

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Nov 08, 2023, 10:34 ET

For the 2023-2024 season, Bridgestone and Play Like a Girl! ^® are teaming up with the Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans to empower girls through sports and STEM activities.
The program is designed to open doors for young women to pursue athletic ambitions while developing essential life skills that can be translated on and off the field.
Bridgestone is donating $100,000 to Play Like a Girl!^® to help girls across the country gain more equitable access to opportunities in sports and education.

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Nov. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today in celebration of National STEM Day, Bridgestone Americas (Bridgestone) announced their partnership with Play Like a Girl!® (PLAG), a nonprofit organization that leverages skills gained from sports to help propel young women into careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Bridgestone and PLAG are teaming up with five professional football franchises—the Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans—for a series of programs during the 2023-2024 season designed to create equitable access to opportunity and develop the next generation of women leaders.

A flag football player runs drills during a Field Day hosted by Bridgestone, the Tennessee Titans, and Play Like a Girl! (PLAG).

These activities are part of Bridgestone's What Really Matters brand platform, which is designed to drive purpose-driven actions that can make a positive and lasting impact for future generations.

"Participating in sports provides valuable opportunities for girls to become leaders both on and off the field. By pairing STEM education with organized sports, young women can excel in any game, in any classroom and in any career," said Caitlyn Ranson, head of partnerships, Bridgestone Americas. "We are proud to partner with Play Like a Girl to drive engagement through our sports relationships and help create more equitable access to opportunity today and for generations to come."

Together, Bridgestone, PLAG and participating teams have hosted interactive girls flag football Field Days across the past month featuring drills with professional football players, a hands-on STEM activity, and a panel discussion featuring female leaders from each organization. Attendees also received a custom STEM curriculum created by PLAG designed to instill teamwork, leadership and self-confidence.

Bridgestone will further support each girls flag football market in different ways, including team transportation funding, development of a digital educational portal, equipment donation and more. As part of the initiative, Bridgestone will also make a $100,000 donation to PLAG to support the national expansion of its mission. This donation has the ability to impact approximately 2,000 more girls and young women across the country with new mentoring programs and chapter expansions in current PLAG locations.

"We're thrilled that with Bridgestone's support we can bring our programs to even more girls in communities across the U.S.," says Dr. Kimberly Clay, founder and CEO, Play Like a Girl. "Closing the gender gap in STEM requires reaching girls in all corners of the country. Bridgestone knows the skills learned on the field matter, and now through this partnership with Play Like a Girl—they will raise national awareness that equitable access and opportunity off the field is what really matters."

Bridgestone's collaboration with PLAG and professional football is part of a broader What Really Matters partnerships platform that includes initiatives with the PGA TOUR, Nashville Predators, adaptive sports organizations, and grants to more than 150 non-profit organizations aimed at reducing barriers of entry for underrepresented groups and serving communities where the company moves, lives, works, and plays.

Bridgestone's partnerships align with the Bridgestone E8 Commitment, which consists of 8 Bridgestone-like values starting with the letter "E." This initiative aligns with the "Emotion" and "Empowerment" values of the Bridgestone E8 Commitment.

For more information, visit bridgestoneamericas.com.

About Bridgestone Americas, Inc.:

Bridgestone Americas, Inc. is the U.S.-based subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation, a global leader in tires and rubber, building on its expertise to provide solutions for safe and sustainable mobility. Headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., Bridgestone Americas employs more than 45,000 people across its worldwide operations. Bridgestone offers a diverse product portfolio of premium tires and advanced solutions backed by innovative technologies, improving the way people around the world move, live, work and play.

About Play Like a Girl!®:

Play Like a Girl is a national 501(c)3 nonprofit organization working to level the playing field for girls in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The organization harnesses the collective power of women volunteers and male allies to unite around gender inequality and the critical role they play in inspiring the next generation of women leaders. Play Like a Girl programs, which primarily live in a hybrid space, elevate women who are natural role models and leaders in their communities through partnerships with companies working to advance diversity, equity and inclusion across all industries and sectors. Since launching in 2004, Play Like a Girl has reached more than 50,000 girls and women in the United States and around the world through in-person and virtual programming. Play Like a Girl is a Black, woman-founded and woman-led organization governed by an active volunteer board of directors. To learn more and make a donation to Play Like a Girl, visit iplaylikeagirl.org, and follow @iplaylikeagirl on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Contact: Laura McCaslin
(931)261-3048
[email protected]

SOURCE Bridgestone Americas, Inc.