Peyton Manning

Most people know Peyton Manning because he is one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game of football, and he recently added to his accomplishments after winning his second Super Bowl last weekend. He is also known for his various skits on Saturday Night Live along with T.V. commercials with Nationwide and Papa Johns. What everyone doesn't know is that Manning does much more for the community than what is advertised. He doesn't want the publicity or the attention for his charitable acts, he genuinely likes to help people.

His biggest contributions come from the Peyback Foundation, which has done so much for St. Vincents Children's Hospital that it is named after Manning. The hospital, which is located in Indianapolis (where Peyton started his NFL career), was renamed in 2007. The exact donation amount from Manning is unknown, but it was estimated to be $50 million in 2007, so it is sure to be well over that mark now. When he left the Indianapolis Colts and joined the Denver Broncos, his contributions to the hospital didn't stop. He still makes phone calls to patients when he is unable to physically be there. The foundation also provides meals to low-income families on Thanksgiving, which most recently fed over 20,000 people. The examples I mentioned are just a few ways that the Peyback Foundation helps countless people.

Aside from the well-known Peyback Foundation, Manning tries to keep his charitable efforts private. Recently, one of his close friends and teammates, Jacob Tamme, was questioned about Peyton's community work. Tamme refused to tell the media anything because he knows that Manning would not want that, and media attention isn't his reason for doing things for the community. When the Aurora movie shooting occurred, Manning called the vice president of  Community Development for the Broncos and asked what he could do to help. He wound up calling and talking to the victims in the hospital because he genuinely wanted to help.



One of my favorite Peyton Manning stories is his encounter with U.S. Army Sgt. Ryan Patterson. Kristen Patterson, the wife of Ryan, wrote Manning a letter in 2014 explaining how big of a fan her husband was and that he would set alarms while serving in Afghanistan in order to listen to the games. Kristen did not leave any contact information, so Peyton went out of his way to find her with the help of the Bronco's public relations team. When he was finally able to reach Kristen on the phone, Manning invited the Pattersons to the hotel where the team would be staying in Cincinnati. He privately met with the Pattersons to talk and give them tickets to the game. He even apologized for not responding soon enough because he was behind on his letters, showing that he tries to respond to as many fans as possible.


Peyton Manning is one of the most caring athletes I have ever read about, and I know he will continue his community work. The stories are endless, and it is sad that we may never be able to hear some of them.