Photo by Shara Talia Taylor
OTF’s efforts to support women and end human trafficking align with those of the Philadelphia community.
By Shara Taylor
Designs by Lululemon and Neiman Marcus graced the stage in the 25th annual Off The Field (OTF) NFL Wives Association’s charity fashion show during the Super Bowl LX weekend in San Francisco last month.
This year the beneficiaries were the Boys & Girls Club of Oakland and San Francisco and the Charlotte Maxwell Clinic, but the “fashion-for-fundraising” event also spotlighted concerns for women, including unemployment, homelessness, domestic violence and trafficking — an issue Philadelphia community members focused on in January. It’s a national concern, especially during big sports events like the Super Bowl, but the women of OTF helped to address the issue by highlighting organizations working to empower women and help youth.
“We’re so excited to support these charities, because honestly, that’s what Off the Field is about, supporting women and also children,” said OTF president, Tenisha Patterson Brown, Esq.
The Charlotte Maxwell Clinic is a free women’s clinic that offers therapies for low-income, underserved, and immigrant women in the San Francisco Area with cancer. The Boys & Girls Club offers programs to children to provide safe spaces, academic success and health and wellness.
Last year, ahead of the OTF fashion show during the Super Bowl LIX weekend, they hosted a reception to raise awareness of Café Momentum, a nonprofit organization that uses culinary training to prevent recidivism in teenagers. The event was in collaboration with Stand Together, a philanthropic organization that connects people to proven nonprofit organizations and meaningful partnership opportunities. Dionne Boldin, wife of NFL legend Anquan Boldin, connected OTF with Stand Together.
Photo by Shara Talia Taylor
“They believe in building communities from the bottom up, and that’s what we’re about,” Boldin said.
Boldin linked the organizations after she chaired the fashion show in 2020, when she also learned about Café Momentum teens.
“Stand Together, which is one of our partners, they are so gracious to provide the gift bags for all the models,” Patterson Brown said. “We have partnered with them for the last few years and can’t wait to continue that relationship.”
The gift bags featured Tommi Vincent’s new book, “The Table of Life,” and products from nonprofit partners, including Thistle Farms, Unshattered, and the Women’s Bean Project. The gifts help create jobs and support women overcoming trafficking, addiction, homelessness, and unemployment.
Sherice Brown, a founder of the Off The Field Wives Association, with husband 2015 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown.
Photo by Shara Talia Taylor
“In addition to advancing women’s issues, we are also very much about economic development as well,” said Stand Together sports managing director Michelle Kim. “For all of the social issue areas in underserved communities, we really collaborate or co-create with those partners to market and bring solutions.”
Kim said they were working with Boldin to use the moment to amplify the work of their partners and create social change.
Laila Dreidame, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Oakland’s vice president of advancement & development, said that change starts with children. They want to impact the world by supporting the families they serve and nurturing their children, which includes about 2,000 in Oakland now.
“We have a pretty great curriculum based on our parent company, the Boys & Girls Club of America,” Dreidame said. “We really focus on academics. We do mentoring, we do STEM programming, we do developing, career opportunities as well and a lot of recreational sports and arts so that they can be creative and kind of have that time to explore who they are.”
The mission of the Boys & Girls Club resonated with the women of Off the Field, some who attended the clubs as children.
The Wellness Affair gave away goodies at their booth at the Off The Field NFL Wives Association (OTF) Charity Fashion Show.
Photo by Shara Talia Taylor
“I used to go to the Boys & Girls Club when I was growing up,” said Ashley Peterson, wife of Adrian Peterson, former NFL running back.
“It’s an amazing cause. I’m super happy to be here and help in whatever capacity I can.”
New England Patriots Linebacker Darius Harris and Jassi Harris, from “The Real Housewives of Potomac,” also attended the fashion show. “We love the Boys and Girls Club,” Jassi said. “We work with them often, no matter what state we’re in.”
Darius said he wants to be there for the children who need the help, because he was in their place once.
“A lot of people were in similar situations in our world coming up,” he said.
Photo by Shara Talia Taylor
Jassi had just applied to become a member of OTF and was there to support the causes. The organization aims to foster sisterhood among wives and significant others while serving NFL communities through philanthropic efforts. They create events for members to cultivate sisterhood, growth and development, and to also serve their communities. The intention is to donate back to the NFL cities that served and helped them grow as their husbands played and continue to play.
NFL Hall of Famer and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown and wife Sherice Brown, a founder of OTF Wives Association, attended as well. Brown said she and her husband also have a foundation that sheds light on trafficking.
“Bringing awareness, making sure people know to be on alert,” she said.
The Boys & Girls Club of America also aims to be part of the way to end trafficking.
“Make sure our girls know they have a safe haven, period,” Dreidame said. “They should never be threatened at home, at school, on the streets, and if they don’t have a place to go, they need to come to Boys & Girls Clubs with Oakland and let’s take care of our girls.”
Dreidame said the Boys & Girls Club of Oakland are doubling down on their focus on girls, especially during March — Women’s History month.
Off the Field presents The Boys & Girls Club of Oakland and San Francisco with a check.
Photo by Shara Talia Taylor
“Well, what’s most important for me to get across is that the internalized racism is a real thing,” she said. “We also have societal racism, and so our Black and Brown girls — ourBlack African American girls — are being seen and perceived as older than they actually are.”
Philadelphia’s efforts to confront human trafficking
Dr. Ellyn Jo Waller, First Lady of Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church in Philadelphia, has fought to stop Black and Brown girls from disappearing into the world of trafficking. According to Waller, trafficking is a problem in the city and surrounding counties, and the community is becoming more active ahead of the large-scale sporting events the city will host.
“State Representative Gina Curry (D-164th Dist.) is working on trying to push the Commonwealth to pass an Ebony Alert, so it would be the same thing as an Amber Alert but it would be for Brown and Black girls, because far too often our kids are viewed as runaways,” Waller said. “Councilmember Nina Ahmad (At-Large) has put forth a bill to address the issue and has secured a significant amount of funding for an awareness campaign for 2026.”
She said this work is important with the upcoming events like the FIFA World Cup and the Major League Baseball All Star game in Philadelphia. “We know wherever there are large gatherings, there unfortunately tends to be a demand for human trafficking,” Waller said.
According to the FBI website, the agency conducted an operation in 2019 to raise awareness about sex trafficking addressing the threat during the Super Bowl and leading up to the game. The press release stated that 169 arrests were made, but according to the website, “It’s not just a problem during large scale events — it is a 365 day-a-year problem in communities all across the country.”
Dr. Waller has been doing anti-human trafficking work for 22 years. Enon held their 13th annual ‘She’s My Sister Anti-Human Trafficking Ministry’ conference in January to engage the community in discussion about trafficking in Philadelphia. OTF’s fashion show has kept conversations active after as National Human Trafficking Prevention Month concluded in January and ahead of Women’s History Month getting started this March.
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