Parade Expands All-America Franchise to Highlight Athletes with Heart; Partners with Inspireum to Present the High School Football Rudy Awards

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By: Press Release | Parade

New York, October 27—For more than 50 years, PARADE has honored high school prep players for significant athletic achievement.  In 2010, the magazine expanded its All-America Sports franchise to honor outstanding young people who contribute to their communities through service. Now, for the first time, PARADE is partnering with Inspireum to present the High School Football Rudy Awards to shine the spotlight on athletes not for their prowess on the field, but for their ability to inspire and motivate their teammates, classmates and communities. The awards are named for Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger, who was immortalized in the 1993 film Rudy, starring Sean Astin.
 
“The Rudy Awards provide us an opportunity to add an important inspirational and emotional element to our All-America program,” says PARADE Editorial Director Maggie Murphy. “Telling America’s stories—like the ones you’ll hear about these amazing young athletes, that touch people and move them to action—has been our mission for 70 years.”  
 
A total of $25,000 in academic scholarships, provided by the Trusted Sports Foundation, will be awarded to the Rudy Awards grand-prize winner, four runners-up, one fan favorite, and six finalists.   Finalists are chosen by online voting and by an esteemed Selection Committee that includes former NFL greats Troy Aikman and Drew Bledsoe.
 
PARADE and Inspireum are offering advertisers an opportunity to align their brands with this new multi-platform program, which features national visibility with a grassroots, local activation plan.  PARADE will feature the announcement of the top 12 finalists, and the Rudy Award winner will be profiled in the January 15, 2012 issue alongside the All-America High School Football Team.  Digital elements include exclusive coverage and expanded profiles of nominees and winners, as well as related slideshows, polls, and quizzes.  Profiles of nominees will be syndicated to PARADE partner newspapers via content widget, and entrants are encouraged to tell their stories with video, utilizing online and social media to promote voting and interaction.
 
The first-ever recipient of the High School Football Rudy Awards is Calob Leindecker of Baton Rouge, LA, who lost his leg in a car accident caused by a mudslide when he was 16.  After undergoing nine surgeries, including the amputation of his leg, he said at the time, "You can take my leg, but you can't take my heart".  Two years of recovery, rejection by his skin of the prosthetic and rehabilitation never dampened his spirit or resolve to play football with his team, the Park View Eagles.  When he dressed in uniform for the first time since the accident and led his team onto the field, there wasn’t a dry eye in the stands.
 
Check out Parade.com/rudy to learn more about the program, and visit  www.highschoolrudyawards.com for more inspirational stories of high school football players.
































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