Dak Prescott is 2022’s Walter Payton Man of the Year

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By M. MarksPosted In: Charity Activity, Charity in Sports, HealthTagged: , ,

Every year, NFL teams are invited to nominate their players for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, which is given to a player who shows excellence on and off the field. 

This year’s winner is Dallas Cowboys Quarterback, Dak Prescott, who’s charity work for the Faith Fight Finish Foundation focuses on cancer research and suicide prevention. 

As reported in People Magazine, Prescott’s mother, Peggy, died of colon cancer in 2013. At the NFL Honors ceremony in early February, Prescott spoke lovingly of his mother,

“My mother was, and still is, my moral compass. And through my own charitable contributions, I seek to share her strength and courage with the world.”

Following his brother Jace’s suicide in 2020, Prescott expanded the work of the Faith Fight Finish Foundation to include suicide prevention. He made a promise to himself “that that would be one life taken to save millions.”

Winners of the Man of the Year award are granted $250,000 to donate to a charity of their choice. Nominees are granted up to $40,000 to donate to charity through the NFL Foundation and Nationwide.

Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes was also nominated for the award in 2022, as was Saquon Barley of the New York Giants. Last year’s winner was Los Angeles Rams tackle, Andrew Whitworth.

Football Star Growing Hair Long for Locks of Love

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By JohnPosted In: Charity ActivityTagged: , , , ,

Football playes aren’t always rough and tumble. Take 305 pound senior starting guard for the Western Michigan football team, John Deyo. Deyo is growing out his hair right now – not as a fashion statement and not for his own good looks – but to donate to “Locks of Love,” a non-profit that makes wigs for kids who have lost their hair.

Both Deyo’s mom and grandmother have survived breast cancer. As Deyo said, “When my mom was diagnosed and started going through the chemo process, she was losing her hair. Myself and some of my friends, we shaved our heads completely bald too to kind of help support her. Once she was clean and clear, I decided I was going to grow my hair out and donate it, because my mom, she wore a wig for a little bit.”

As Deyo’s mom, Pam, explained, “There’s so many people that can’t afford wigs, or are going through cancer and have other expenses. Losing hair is a big deal to a lot of people, even when it’s something that’s gone temporarily. Johnny has seen that and decided he would like to help.”

Some of Deyo’s teammaters plan to join with him as well. WMU’s Alex Carder, Eric Monette, Justin Currie and Dann O’Neill all plan to donate their hair to ‘Locks of Love’ with him. As Deyo said, “It’s really great to see other guys on the team doing it. I don’t know, it gets me choked up really to think about it.”

The Valerie Fund

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By JohnPosted In: Charity Activity, Childrens CharitiesTagged: , ,

When nine-year old Valerie Goldstein passed away after a battle against cancer, her parents Ed and Sue didn’t want her death to be forgotten.  They thus established the Valerie Fund, back in 1976, in her memory.  The fund’s aim is to “provide support for the comprehensive health care of children with cancer and blood disorders.”

Thirty-five years after its founding, there are today, seven Valerie Fund Children’s Centers for Cancer and Blood Disorders located in tri-state hospitals which offer comprehensive health care to over five thousand children and their families every single year.  This makes up the biggest network of healthcare facilities for children with cancer and blood disorders throughout New Jersey, making it one of the largest in the country, with more than 25,000 patient visits annually.

The Valerie Fund seeks to treat the “whole patient” and the “whole family.”  This means that it focuses not just on the physical needs of the individual, but also their emotional needs.  And since cancer impacts the entire family as well, the Valerie Fund notes that and provides support and counseling for siblings and parents as well.