Chris Long Donating Part Of Salary For Early Literacy Program

PHILADELPHIA – Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Chris Long puts his money where his mouth is, that's for sure.

The two-time Super Bowl Champion has given money to education equality groups in Philadelphia, Boston, and St. Louis that push for education equality for all children, and gave funds to his hometown Charlottesville, Virginia after the city found itself the center of international news regarding a white supremacist rally that left one woman dead.

And yet again Long is giving some of his salary from the Birds to the community, this time it's to start an early literacy program for underserved youths.

Long announced Friday that he is donating a quarter of his salary to launch the First Quarter for Literacy, a program that will help youth start reading at earlier ages.

Long commands a $2.5 million salary for the Eagles, so he'll be donating roughly $400,000 to kick off the program.

With First Quarter for Literacy, Long and his wife Megan are partnering with the United Way and Read by 4th to launch the program, which will give underserved kids more books and draw attention to the benefits of early-childhood reading.

"Right now, two out of three students in Philadelphia are not reading at grade level by the time they start 4th grade," the First Quarter for Literacy website reads. "Changing this may seem daunting, but Philly has proven the impossible is no match for us. We all have a role to play in helping every child in our great city become strong readers and setting them up for a lifetime of success."

And Long is extending the program's reach well beyond our city.

According to the program's website, Long will match up to $25,000 for every donation made by a player on an opposing team to First Quarter for Literacy. The combined funds will be used to provide books for home libraries for underserved kids in the opposing NFL city.

So far, Beau Allen of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers committed to distributing 2,500 books. The Eagles' own Fletcher Cox is giving $10,000 for about 5,000 books to kids in his home state of Mississippi.

Long tweeted his goal is to get 75,000 books to kids. As of Friday morning, 27,500 books are accounted for.

Visit the First Quarter for Literacy website to see how you can donate or volunteer.

AP Photo/Chris Szagola