Long teams up with author Calhoun for holiday break donation for area kids

Two-Time Super Bowl Champion Chris Long and The Chris Long Foundation are donating 1,220 of the popular book Little Joe Chickapig to Charlottesville Boys & Girls Clubs, to all First-Grade students at Charlottesville city schools, and to Reach Out & Read Charlottesville, in a partnership with Chickapig author Brian Calhoun.

The donation kicks off holiday break and ensures children have a new book to read during the break from school, continuing The Chris Long Foundation’s mission of encouraging reading across the United States. As part of the partnership, Long will also do a reading of Little Joe Chickapig at the Cherry Avenue Boys & Girls Club of Charlottesville with Calhoun.

Following that reading and to extend the holiday spirit, Long will then take boys and girls of the Jack Jouett Boys & Girls Club on a holiday shopping spree at a Charlottesville-area Target. Members from the Jack Jouett Boys & Girls Club were selected for this special experience based on good behavior, parent engagement, and attendance at Club meetings and activities, and recent youths of the month.

The Chris Long Foundation is a nonprofit, founded by two-time Super Bowl Champion and 2018 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year Chris Long, dedicated to serving those most at risk, at home and abroad. Started in 2015, The Chris Long Foundation has engaged in both international and domestic programs focused around clean water, educational equity, and military support. The Foundation’s programs strive to generate impactful results by creating opportunities and providing resources, financial support, and meaningful experiences to those it serves. Visit chrislongfoundation.org to find out more.

Chris Long is a two-time Super Bowl-winning former NFL defensive end, who retired from the NFL in 2019 after an 11-year playing career. Long was the 2nd overall draft pick in the 2008 NFL Draft and spent his career with the St. Louis Rams, New England Patriots, and Philadelphia Eagles, winning back-to-back Super Bowls with the former two teams.

Long is noted for his work on the field and off, earning numerous awards for his philanthropic endeavors including the 2018 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year Award and the 2019 Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award. Long founded the Waterboys initiative in 2015, which unites professional athletes and fans in the shared mission of bringing clean water to one million people in need worldwide. To date, the non-profit has successfully brought clean water to over 340,000.

Long’s charitable foundation, The Chris Long Foundation, also has worked extensively in education, with its First Quarter for Literacy program bringing nearly 80,000 books to at-risk children in seven different U.S. states. Long is also the founder of Chalk Media, an online community featuring a variety of content from sports and entertainment celebrities.

Luthier and game-creator-turned-author, Brian Calhoun, grew up in the countryside of Rockbridge County, VA. Calhoun relocated to Charlottesville in his early twenties and launched Rockbridge Guitar, an artisan business crafting high-end acoustic guitars for musicians including Dave Matthews, Jason Mraz, Brandi Carlile, Warren Haynes, and more.

After playing a board game he deemed boring, Calhoun came up with the idea for the Chickapig game in 2013. Calhoun had always thought of writing children’s books and the characters from the game seeded the idea for his first book, Little Joe Chickapig.

In addition, Chickapiglets (a version of the game designed for younger children) was released in Target this year. Inspired by the momentum and creativity behind Chickapig, Calhoun and Matthews developed a new poker-based game, 25 OUTLAWS, which was released in June.