Friday, the Carolina Panthers celebrated the team’s fourth annual Keep Pounding Day, an organization-wide day of service to benefit communities in the Carolinas. Panthers players, coaches, Legends and staff participated in four service projects serving Charlotte, Raleigh and Spartanburg. The projects addressed youth health and wellness, education, beautification, sustainability and affordable housing.
“The Carolina Panthers are excited to hold the organization’s Keep Pounding Day of community service again this year,” said Riley Fields, the Panthers director of community relations. “We are looking forward to providing a day of service for our region’s communities as a sincere thank you for the support we receive from Panthers fans across North and South Carolina. This year’s events take on even more significance as we celebrate the upcoming Pro Football Hall of Fame induction of Sam Mills who coined the “Keep Pounding” mantra in an impassioned speech to the team prior to the Dallas playoff game during the 2003 season.”
In Charlotte, Panthers players and coaches framed a home for a Habitat for Humanity family while also working side-by-side with students from Harding High School’s Rebuilding Opportunities in Construction program, a non-profit construction trades youth apprenticeship program funded by Lowe’s. In a separate project, Panthers coaches, front office staff and Legends players assisted Johnson C. Smith University with refurbishments to the school’s Sustainability Village which provides fresh food for the school and neighbors in the Beatties Ford Road corridor.
“Economic opportunities for advancement are a critical issue in our community. The opportunity to serve Habitat for Humanity and their mission to provide safe, affordable housing will create a real steppingstone for a Charlotte family,” said Fields. “In similar fashion, Johnson C. Smith’ University’s Sustainability Village provides an on-going fresh food resource that serves the school and the west Charlotte community. We are excited to provide needed refurbishments to this important resource so that it can maintain its high service level to the community.”
Per Release
The Carolina Panthers Did the Right Thing Trading Up for the Guy they Loved