The NFL Disaster Relief Fund has awarded $1 million in grants to support 10 United Way of America affiliates that still are caring for evacuees of 2005 Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, it was announced today.

Each of the 10 affiliates will receive a $100,000 grant from the Disaster Relief Fund which was established immediately following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to help rebuild communities affected by large-scale tragedies. Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL Players Association Executive Director Gene Upshaw are co-chairs of the NFL Disaster Relief Fund.

The local United Way in the following cities soon will receive $100,000 checks: Atlanta, Baton Rouge, Charlotte, Dallas, Houston, Jackson, MS; Jacksonville, FL; Lafayette, LA; Mobile, AL; and San Antonio. These local United Ways were identified by United Way of America as among those that were most involved in evacuee assistance.

In the aftermath of the storms, an extraordinary number of individuals, corporations and non-profits provided immediate relief to those in need. Since then, organizations such as local United Ways have assisted in cities where displaced evacuees have relocated from across the Gulf Coast region.

The grants will help local United Way agencies meet needs in the areas of housing, healthcare, job training, education, mental health counseling, and childcare assistance.

With this latest donation, NFL owners, teams, the NFLPA, individual players, and NFL fans collectively have contributed more than $22 million to Hurricane Katrina relief.