St. Louis Rams Players OJ Atogwe and Chris Draft Nominated for Prestigious National Community Service Award

The St. Louis Rams have nominated free safety O.J. Atogwe and linebacker Chris Draft for the national Jefferson Award for Outstanding Public Service by an Athlete, presented by All Stars Helping Kids, a national nonprofit founded by NFL Hall-of-Famer Ronnie Lott. Fans can “get in the game” and help Atogwe and Draft win by voting on the All Stars Helping Kids website (www.allstarshelpingkids.org) and via text message beginning in August and running through November 15th.

Atogwe and Draft join other impressive nominees, including Steve Nash, Mia Hamm, and Venus Williams. Past winners of the Jefferson Award include Oprah Winfrey, U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, and Bill & Melinda Gates.

Atogwe and Draft have worked to serve youth and families in the St. Louis community through their philanthropy. Atogwe is actively engaged with the St. Louis Public Schools and provide deserving local high schools with grants to support their football programs. Draft's foundation, the Chris Draft Family Foundation, takes on community projects benefiting youth, families, schools, civic groups and health awareness organizations. He is also the spokesman for the Asthma and Allergy Foundation, as he suffers from asthma. To learn more about their service, visit their profiles on www.allstarshelpingkids.org.
 
In addition to honoring philanthropic athletes, All Stars Helping Kids and the Jefferson Awards are encouraging fans to “get in the game” by:

• Voting for them online or via text message. To vote for Atogwe text STAR3 to 55333. To vote for Draft, text STAR10 to 55333 (sponsored by AT&T and facilitated by Txtstation).
• Telling their friends to vote
• Following their lead and volunteering in their community
• Nominating a local hero for a regional Jefferson Award for Public Service.

All Stars Helping Kids was founded by NFL Hall-of-Famer Ronnie Lott in 1989 with the goal of promoting a safe, healthy, rigorous learning environment for disadvantaged kids in low-income communities. All Stars achieves this mission by pooling the resources of athletes, corporations and individuals to support high-performing academic and physical enrichment programs.