Jan 18, 2005, 1:08:40 PM

The NFL, through NFL Charities, has announced that a quartet of Chiefs player’s foundations would be receiving grants to continue their philanthropic ways. TE Tony Gonzalez (Tony Gonzalez Foundation), QB Trent Green (Trent Green Family Foundation), FB Tony Richardson (Rich in Spirit Foundation), and G Will Shields (Will to Succeed Foundation), amassed a total of $70,000 for their respective organizations. In all, NFL Charities allotted over $1 million to the foundations of current and former players. The League awarded 44 current players foundation grants, with no other club garnering more than the Chiefs four recipients.

NFL Charities is the cornerstone of the National Football League’s commitment to community service. NFL Charities supports programs and initiatives that deliver education and youth services, designates funds to assist the foundations of current and former players working in local communities and awards sports-related medical research grants that advance the body of knowledge of sports medicine for professional and recreational athletes.

Gonzalez formed the Tony Gonzalez Foundation which supports the Shadow Buddies program as well as Boys and Girls Clubs. The purpose of the foundation is to serve as a positive force in the lives of individuals in need, no matter their age, financial status, ethnic background, physical abilities or limitations.

Trent and Julie Green established the Trent Green Family Foundation to support and develop family-focused programming. The goal is to bolster the quality of life for families of all social, economic and religious backgrounds.

The Rich in Spirit Foundation was created by Richardson to extend a helping hand and uplift the lives and spirits of individuals who society has turned their backs on. Throughout his time in Kansas City, he has partnered with Special Olympics, Athletes in Action, City Union Mission, Harvest Church, and The Dictionary Project.

The reining Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year, Shields and his wife, Senia, formed the Will to Succeed Foundation in 1993. To date, the foundation has aided some 97,781 women and children that have been abused, battered and neglected.

Through NFL Charities’ Player Organization Grants, current and former players have the opportunity to apply for funding to go towards their foundation and its focused causes. In order to be eligible to apply for the grant, a players’ charitable organization must be defined as tax-exempt, and be located or operating within the area of the player’s current or former NFL team or in his hometown.