Last Friday, December 6th, former UVA and NFL football players, Chris Long and Joe Reed, read to students at Johnson Elementary School. 

The Chris Long Foundation is a local non-profit organization founded by two-time Super Bowl Champion Chris Long. The foundation originated with the Waterboys campaign, which aimed to give communities abroad access to clean water. In 2021, with the EdZone Initiative, the foundation expanded to focus on domestic issues that affect students. 

“When I looked at wanting to do something domestically, [education] equity is kind of that version here of clean water access [overseas],” says Chris Long. “I think it’s the quickest way to change the world, to level the playing field.” Additionally, Long believes that providing kids with basic necessities fosters a better learning environment. As a kid, Long says he felt intimidated by the academic side of school, even though he had access to good books, hygiene products, and a coat to keep him warm in the winter. 

When discussing the importance of these resources, Long draws up an analogy to football. Just like a football player can’t take the field without pads and a helmet, kids are not prepared to learn without basic necessities. 

“It’s hard enough with everything. We kind of liken it to that, as kids are taking the field every day without the essentials. You wouldn’t even let them on the field in a football game [without a helmet], you know, to make the analogy. I think these kids are all very capable if they have the supplies.”

The foundation has worked with many different partners to “level the playing field” for students. Specifically, in Charlottesville City Schools, they established EdZone Essential Needs Closets in all six elementary schools. Families can request essential items from toothpaste to warm coats, which will be sent home with their children free of charge. However, EdZone is working to provide more than just the basic necessities.

 One of their newer partners is the nonprofit First Book, which works to remove barriers to education. They facilitate the promotion of equitable academic advantages to children across North America by providing free and low-cost books and resources to schools and households in need. During the assembly on Friday, the two former athletes each read a book aloud to the school. These books are a part of the 1,300 book collection being donated to Johnson, courtesy of the Chris Long Foundation’s EdZone initiative. Opportunities like these drive the foundation’s mission. 

“First Book is really important to us,” says Long, “Having that partnership and not having to think twice about it…We can just kind of be the megaphone, show up, and read to the kids.” Long explains that he always likes to show a lot of respect to their partners, because they “couldn’t do it without them.”

Recently, Joe Reed joined Long in an effort to help further the mission of EdZone, starting with the reading at Johnson Elementary School last Friday. As a member of the Charlottesville community since his years at UVA, Reed is very excited to be giving back to the community that means so much to him. He first joined the Chris Long Foundation as an NFL Waterboy, helping increase access to clean water to communities in desperate need. 

“Once I stopped playing as much football, Waterboys, for me, was really cool because it was a lot of active players involved and doing stuff in the football community. At this point in my life, EdZone made more sense because I’m in the area a lot more and I can start popping into schools.”

Now that his roots are planted in Charlottesville, Reed has become Long’s “right-hand man” and plans to lead EdZone’s effort to make a bigger impact on Charlottesville schools.

“If he’s in Philly, and there’s something EdZone-related in Charlottesville, I’ll be here to handle it and take care of it for him,” Reed said.

As the EdZone initiative continues to grow, spreading to Philadelphia and St. Louis, Long’s main goal is to establish pride in students. “The number one thing is that I want to have a hand in giving these kids dignity. Because without dignity, you can’t take the field.”

If you want to help the Chris Long Foundation in preparing students to take the field, head to https://chrislongfoundation.org/.