ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos were named the recipient of ESPN's prestigious 2022 Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year Award, it was announced Tuesday.
Presented annually, the ESPN Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year Award is given to a sports franchise that demonstrates how teamwork can create a measurable impact on a community or cause. The Broncos are one of two NFL teams to ever win the award (San Francisco 49ers, 2017) and one of only three organizations to be named a finalist three or more times.
"It's a tremendous accomplishment to just be recognized as a finalist and an incredible honor to be named the winner of ESPN's Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year Award," Broncos Vice President of Community Development Allie Engelken said. "This award is a culmination of adjusting to the immediate needs of our community while deepening our commitment to the long-term strategic programming we have in place. We were fortunate enough to accomplish some truly impactful feats during the 2020-21 seasons, and we hope to build on that for years to come.
"We want to thank President and CEO Joe Ellis, our players, staff, Denver Broncos Charities Board of Directors and community partners, for their support and ability to adapt while still positively impacting our community. I also want to acknowledge the rest of the community development team — Patrick Smyth, Liz Jeralds, Bobby Mestas, Katie Shuster and Maya Blacken — for their hard work and dedication to utilizing our platform as an agent for social change."
The Sports Humanitarian Awards will combine with the 2022 ESPYS for a week of inspirational programming that showcases service, character and achievement in sports. As the winner Denver Broncos Charities will be featured during select programming. The ESPYS will air live on Wednesday, July 20, at 6 p.m. MT (8 p.m. ET).
Other finalists for the award were the Miami HEAT (NBA), Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL) and Seattle Storm (WNBA).
The Broncos were selected as the winner of ESPN's Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year Award through a comprehensive review process that evaluated their community teamwork, strategy and data-driven outcomes of their philanthropic work and player initiatives.
- In 2022, Broncos players and staff supported their community by:Players volunteering more than 900 hours through 745 different engagements
- Launching a gun buyback program in partnership with Denver & Aurora councilmembers and Colorado-based nonprofit RAWTools
- Contributing over $275,000 for Inspire Change programs and initiatives
- Being the only professional sports team to fully fund its own branch of Boys & Girls Clubs of America, giving 14,500+ under-resourced youth a home away from home since 2003
- Supporting 30 local nonprofits via the club's annual Community Grant Program
- Investing in the equity of female youth sports in the Metro Denver area, with an emphasis on launching a girls high school flag football pilot program
- Conducting the Staff Community Service Series, featuring in-person and remote monthly volunteer opportunities for Broncos staff and families
The Broncos community outreach consists of five focus areas: Youth Development, Quality of Life, Health & Wellness, Youth Football, Civic Engagement. On average, the Broncos and Denver Broncos Charities annually invest more than $3 million in financial contributions, in-kind support and volunteer hours. Economic impact is distributed across all community initiatives and partnerships in alignment with the team's mission to improve lives in the community.
For more information about the team's community outreach, please visit https://www.denverbroncos.com/community/.
