Procter & GambleADVERTORIAL

Procter & Gamble, who has brands like Tide®, Head & Shoulders®, Charmin® & Pampers®, through a promotion with the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA), will bring a once in a lifetime experience to more than 2,000 military youth worldwide this year, through its activation of ProCamps. This experience will celebrate & honor the heroic, resilient and courageous military children and their families, while enabling the commissary to execute on their mission of bringing the military community together. The ProCamps program is a great example of how the Commissary joins hands with industry partners to accomplish so much more than it can alone for these deserving military families.

PROCAMPS• ProCamps manages and operates sports camps around the world led by profes-

sional athletes. These camps take place on the military base and are designed to teach the fundamentals of football, teamwork and how to make new friends. At the camps, the youth in grades 1-8 participate in a once in a lifetime ex-perience where they catch touchdowns, run routes and defend against their favorite NFL athletes that they see on TV.

• Procter & Gamble is partnering with several athletes including Andre Roberts (Detroit Lions), Steve Smith Sr. (Retired, Baltimore Ravens), Alejandro Vil-

lanueva (Pittsburgh Steelers), Jonathan Stewart (Carolina Panthers), Graham Gano (Carolina Panthers), LeGarrette Blount (New England Patriots) and many others.

• To date, Procter & Gamble has hosted more than 40 Military ProCamps and is continuing to support military youth and their families in Europe and the Far East this year.

• Procter & Gamble kicked off their 2017 ProCamps program at Fort Lee in Virginia with Alejandro Villanueva (Pittsburgh Steelers). Alejandro read to military kids and took photos and signed autographs with service members.

COMMISSARY AS THE CENTER OF THE COMMUNITY• The commissary is the center and “heart” of the community and so much

more than a grocery store; they are a central place where military families can shop with brands that they trust and connect to the most.

• The commissary supports every ProCamps. The commissary donates healthy snacks and water for all of those in attendance. Their contribution helps promote their Healthy Lives initiative which promotes healthy eating and staying active.

ALEJANDRO VILLANUEVA, PITTSBURGH STEELERS

Alejandro grew up in a military family and spent most of his life on U.S. Military bases. He can identify with many of the military children and the challenges that they face. Being a military kid playing various sports on base at the MWR gym has inspired him to give back to the military community through ProCamps. He understands the importance of fitness and appreciates all of the opportunities he was given on base while he was a kid.

Growing up Alejandro had many role models. He looked up to his dad who was in the military, because his dad took care of his family and dealt with so many challenges. Alejandro also

looked up to his Platoon Sergeants and Squad Leaders. They were brave, showed a lot of valor in combat and sacrificed so much. He hopes that one day he can thank them for everything they have done to help shape the person he is today.

GRAHAM GANO, CAROLINA PANTHERS Graham grew

up in a military family with his dad serving in the Navy for over 30 years. He loved being a mili tary kid be-cause he was able to see so many parts of the world. F r om a young age, he knew that he wanted to give

back to the military community if he could play sports at a high level. Last year, the opportunity arose and Graham participated in his first Military ProCamps in Pensacola; right in his hometown. He loved teaching the kids football skills and just seeing the pure joy on their faces despite the heat.

Graham knows the importance of setting goals. At his camp, he reminds the kids that they should not be afraid to attack their goals. He also tells them to always give it 100% and don’t slack off so you can be successful.

STEVE SMITH SR., FORMERLY WITH THE BALTIMORE RAVENS

Steve enjoys participating in the Military ProCamps because many of his family members have served in the military. He has a strong apprecia-tion for the military community and ev-erything they do to protect our freedom.

Steve believes that he can learn a lot from the kids at the camp; he isn’t the only one teaching life lessons. Steve knows that military children go through a lot of ordeals such as adjusting to a new community and the absence of a parent figure when they are deployed. Through these challenges Steve sees first-hand how the kids do a great job of handling themselves through these circumstances. And through all of this, Steve just wants to bring a little normalcy to their lives.

JONATHAN STEWART, CAROLINA PANTHERSJonathan grew up in a

military family with his dad serving in the Army. He also has a brother who is cur-rently enlisted as a Major in the Army. Growing up, his dad was not around so he gives a lot of credit to his mom who raised him. He sees his mom as a huge role model in his life. Jonathan also gives credit to former teammate, Steve

Smith, Sr. Steve was someone he could look up to on and off the field and someone who helped teach him how to carry himself as a professional.

Jonathan understands what many of the military kids are going through with relocations and having to make new friends on each base. During his camps, he reminds the kids that even though they are in a different situation from most kids they can still accomplish all their dreams. They should continue to set goals, learn their potential and inspire others which is exactly what he tries to do on and off the field each year.

ANDRE ROBERTS, DETROIT LIONS

Andre loves participating in the Military ProCamps because he comes from a mili-tary family. Both of his parents were in the Army and his dad, is a retired Command Sergeant Major and his mom, is a retired First Sergeant. Andre knows that often mili-tary parents are recognized and the kids are forgotten, but to him and many others the kids serve too and he wants to recognize them for all their resiliency.

At the end of each camp Andre always reminds the kids to have fun along the way and set goals for themselves so they can achieve their dreams. Seeing the kids have fun and learning football skills reminds Andre how fun football is.