Man with Celiac Disease being inducted into American Football Hall of Fame

Recently, a received a very exciting e-mail from a good friend of mine, Craig Pinto. Craig, a former professional indoor football player, is the founder of Kicking4Celiac, a foundation whose aim is to reach out to people with Celiac Disease. Craig founded it in 2011 in order to educate and raise awareness about an illness that he suffers from. Craig and his board of directors works tirelessly to raise money for different Celiac Disease Centers and other Celiac-related non-profits as well as their own program, Cleats 4 Kids, which encourages good nutrition, healthy eating and places an emphasis on an active lifestyle. Kicking4Celiac also has their own scholarship program for high school student students in order to help off-set costs of living gluten-free while getting their undergraduate degree.
The past two years, Craig has put together a charity event to raise awareness for Celiac Disease by attempting to break the Guinness Book of World Records for most field goals kicked in 12 hours. Craig broke the record in 2011 with 717 field goals and then broke his own record in 2012 by kicking 1000 field goals! So, I was thrilled to receive an e-mail from Craig saying he was being inducted into American Football Hall of Fame Class of 2013. In November in Miami, Florida, Craig will be recognized during the fourth America Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony honoring a "League of Extraordinary People" for his world records and his philanthropy through football.

I know I am not alone when I say that the Celiac community is extremely proud of him and looks forward to all he will continue to accomplish through his incredible passion and devotion to raising awareness to an autoimmune illness that affects so many. Feel free to e-mail Craig and let him know how proud of him you are! craig@kicking4celiac.org