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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. —** For everywhere Peyton Manning has lived, he likes to leave an imprint on the communities that have supported him.
Grants from Manning's PeyBack Foundation distributed for this year totaled just over $1 million, given to 144 youth-based organizations across Colorado, Tennessee, Louisiana and Indiana. The goal of the foundation is to promote growth and future success of disadvantaged youth through assisting programs that provide leadership and development opportunities. Since it was created in 1999, the PeyBack Foundation has provided more than $11 million through grants and programs for at-risk youth.
"The mission and work of the PeyBack Foundation is something we are very passionate about and to be able to continue our growth through increased giving is very rewarding," said Manning, PeyBack Foundation President. "For the second year, we are fortunate to be able to provide a donation total of $1 million to youth based community organizations."
Quarterback Peyton Manning threw some passes at Hallett Elementary School in Denver.
The organization received a record 700 applications this year, which all come from non-profit agencies and organizations that actively work to improve the welfare of disadvantaged children in Colorado, Tennessee, Louisiana or Indiana.
Among the 144 organizations to receive grants from the PeyBack Foundation are:
- Augustana Arts, Inc., whose goal is to "gather the community, suport the arts, delight the spirit." Their grant will go toward their City Strings program, which will be an out-of-school fully subsidized instrumental music program for children in high-poverty schools.
- Big City Mountaineers, whose mission is to help underserved youth learn life skills through wildlife mentoring expeditions. Their grant will be for those wilderness expeditions.
- Colfax Community Network, who aim to improve family and community welfare with special services for families living in motels or low-income housing. They received a grant for after-school and summer programs, which aim to provide daily academic support, along with a safe space for recreation and mentorship. During the summer, it would expand for a six-hour program that provides meals and activities to enrich the lives of children who experience homelessness.
- Growing Gardens, whose goal is to improve community education and engagement in sustainable urban agriculture. Their grant is for the Cultiva Youth Project, which gives teens an opportunity to learn job skills, create or continue a healthy lifestyle involving nutrition, cooking and physical activities, and serving as role models to young children, all through sustainable urban agriculture.
- OpenWorld Learning, whose mission is to support students through digital techonology and peer teaching to foster leadership development and a love for learning. They received a grant for their after-school and summer programs, which will provide fun and challenging STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) educational programs to teach computer technology to students in low-income communities.
