The military community will have the chance to connect with two professional football players during the upcoming Procter and Gamble (P&G) Military ProCamps Virtual Kick-off event on February 16 from 1-3 p.m. EST.
NFL players Aaron Jones, a running back with the Green Bay Packers, and Jonathan Allen, a defensive tackle on the Washington Football Team, will host the event, according to a news release from Defense Commissary Agency Corporate Communications.
The first 200 people to register for the event will receive a digitally signed photo from the professional athletes. Each person who registers will also have to opportunity to submit a question for the athletes, in addition to being entered into a raffle.
The virtual event will kick off the P&G-sponsored NFL ProCamps program for thousands of military children across the world and is put on through a partnership between Proctor and Gamble, DeCA, the Army and Air Force Exchange, the Navy Exchange Service Command, the Marine Corps Exchange and the Coast Guard Exchange.
“This is the ninth year of the ProCamps program and to date we have hosted over 90 football camps for military kids all over the world,” said Molly Fanning, vice president of Partnership Marketing. “We really want to continue to emphasize that this event is possible because of the support of the commissary and the exchange. They are truly the ones who are helping to bring the camp experience to installations around the world.”
Both of the athletes hosting the event have close ties to the military. Jones’ father retired as an Army command sergeant major and his mother retired as a sergeant major. Allen’s father retired as an Army sergeant first class and his brother is currently serving as an Army staff sergeant.
Usually, P&G military resale organizations organize two-day football camps for qualifying military bases. “Installations qualify for a camp based on sales of designated P&G products at their local commissaries and exchanges, and customers can have their say by voting through mobile texting from Feb. 26 to April 11. Customers will also see mass product displays in participating stores,” the release stated.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was virtual last year. In-person camps could still occur this year, but their status in the midst of the dwindling pandemic is still “to-be-determined”
“We are hoping to be able to do in-person camps, but if on-base activities and large gatherings are still not allowed we will be doing virtual events again like last summer,” Fanning said.
