by Patricia Billinger
When Denver Broncos fans gleefully celebrated Peyton Manning’s feat surpassing the all-time career passing touchdown record on Sunday, the folks here at the American Red Cross in Denver did an extra celebration dance.
We knew the historic moment not only was worthy of celebration in its own right, but also boded well for the thousands of families who turn to the Colorado Red Cross every year for help after disaster upends their lives.
As expected, the historic achievement — and Manning’s overall stellar performance — earned him the fans’ vote as the FedEx Air Player of the Week. And that, in turn, means that FedEx will be donating another $2,000 to the American Red Cross Mile High Chapter to support disaster relief right here in Denver.
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| Courtesy of NFL.com |
This is the second time this month that Manning has earned the honor (he also was nominated and won Air Player of the Week for his Oct. 5 performance ), bringing the total donated by FedEx to our community thus far to $4,000. What can $4,000 do for Colorado families affected by disasters?
To give you an idea, with $1,000 the Red Cross can:
- Provide 500 snacks for hungry residents and first responders
- Serve 100 hot meals at shelters or delivered in disaster-affected communities
- Provide food and shelter to 5 families for a day in a shelter
- Or Supply 200 blankets that evacuees use to keep warm or pad their cot at a shelter.
Manning led the Broncos to another solid win last night. If he continues this solid performance — one that already has some dubbing him the best quarterback of all time — Manning will be a top contender for the FedEx Player of the Year. If he earns that honor, our generous supporters at FedEx will donate $25,000 to support disaster relief in Denver.
That’s a huge reason to cheer — and a reason to say “thank you, Peyton, for being the best.” Every forward pass he completes potentially pays it forward to local residents who’ve lost everything to disaster.