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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – **As many Coloradans dealing with the effects of last week's heavy rainfall and flooding, some of the Broncos are reaching out to help.
Owner and CEO Pat Bowlen and the Broncos made a donation of $50,000 to the relief efforts.
On Wednesday, an off day for the players, some Broncos players also reached out to help. Ben Garland and Mitch Unrein answered phones at the Colorado Flood Relief Fundraiser Telethon. The event donated funds to the Red Cross and food banks in the state that are providing aid to flood victims.
Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning recorded an audio message for the telethon asking people to join him in the relief effort.
"It's been a very difficult situation for Colorado and just a terrible tragedy for those who have been affected by these floods," Manning said after practice Thursday. "Homes, lives—you can't make up for the loss of life or the loss of a home, but when a community or a team comes together, you can make a difference and provide some type of comfort, some type of peace for those that are struggling. It's hard to watch the news and see the new reports. That is not what you want to see.
"But I do, like I did last night, encourage folks to give something. Monies, time, whether it's to the Red Cross or whatever, do something. Obviously a lot of people answered the bell last week and I know that I was glad to support it because I know they're going to use those monies to help the affected people."
Garland and Unrein, both from Colorado, were joined by former Broncos Steve Foley, Reggie Rivers, Mike Harden and Le-Lo Lang on the phones.
"It was a really cool experience. You just saw the generosity of Colorado coming together," Garland said at the event. "I had thousand-dollar phone call donations. You just had people turning out and trying to help their neighbors in this time of need."
The telethon, which was hosted by TeleTech at their headquarters, raised more than $1.1 million for relief efforts.
"It really shows how close-knit Colorado is and how family-oriented Colorado is," Unrein said at the event. "If someone's having a hard time, somebody's going to step up and try to help them out financially, or in any way possible."
For more information about donating to the Red Cross, click here.
