Quality Participation Trophy: Broncos Named ESPN’s Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year
The Denver Broncos are on a roll. Signing one of the big prizes in the off-season in quarterback Russell Wilson, while filling a number of other needs through the draft and free agency, the club seems poised to rejoin the top ranks of the league after a 5-year hiatus.
It doesn’t take much to get the Bronco faithful pumped for a new season, so this year most likely only a deep playoff run will approximate their typically unreasonable expectations.
This year those same fans have something they can truly be proud of regarding their franchise: the ESPN Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year. Only the second NFL franchise to receive the award (it’s been in play since 2013), the Broncos beat out a stellar group of finalists to capture the award for the professional team that made the biggest difference in their community.
Fairly amazing that this franchise, which seemed to suffer due to family ownership infighting over the past several years, was still able to keep its eye on the ball for doing things right in the community. The Broncos had been a finalist three times prior, so this was no aberration. Perhaps a lasting legacy of Pat Bowlen and the culture he created many years ago.
Among other things, the Broncos supported the community by:
- Players volunteering more than 900 hours through 745 different engagements
- Launching a gun buyback program in partnership with Denver & Aurora councilmembers and Colorado-based nonprofit RAWTools
- Contributing over $275,000 for Inspire Change programs and initiatives
- Being the only professional sports team to fully fund its own branch of Boys & Girls Clubs of America, giving 14,500+ under-resourced youth a home away from home since 2003
- Supporting 30 local nonprofits via the club’s annual Community Grant Program
- Investing in the equity of female youth sports in the Metro Denver area, with an emphasis on launching a girls high school flag football pilot program
- Conducting the Staff Community Service Series, featuring in-person and remote monthly volunteer opportunities for Broncos staff and families
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