Wednesday, Miles, and Denver Broncos Cheerleader Melissa Aust and I were at Colfax Elementary to help the school kickoff their Reading is Fundamental (RIF) program.

The RIF program is designed to show children that reading isn’t just another subject at school and that reading can provide a child endless hours of fun and entertainment. With that concept in mind for our visit, Miles and Melissa did an interactive reading with the Miles Grand Adventure A to Z book for each grade level in the school.

The reading gives the students the opportunity to interact with Miles and Melissa and demonstrates the fun you can have with a book!

Last Friday, October 26th we hosted a very special Broncos Reading Corner opening at the Anchor Center for Blind Children’s new facility.  When we first began discussions about putting a Broncos Reading Corner at the Center, we knew it would be special and unique, but we had no idea just how wonderful, moving our experience would be.  Spending the afternoon with Cristina, Uriah, Drew, Alex, Aidan, Diego, Cici, Jesus, David, Elie, Haley, Alma, Miranda, Nicholas, Daniel, Arturo and Skyla, their families and the Anchor Center staff was something we will not forget.  

At each of our Reading Corner openings, the highlight is an interactive reading for the kids with Broncos Ring of Fame member Billy Thompson and Miles (the Broncos mascot), in which Miles acts out the adventures in the book!  In preparation for our visit at the Anchor Center, we knew we needed come up with a way for visually impaired children to enjoy this experience and to introduce them to Miles!  Working in conjunction with staff members at the Anchor Center, we came up with several ideas — we began by having Miles come in shaking pom pons (an auditory cue for the children) and gave them the opportunity to come up and touch Miles to give them a sense of him.  One of the children, remarked…he’s big, furry and wearing football pants!

In 2006, the Broncos Wives gave a portion of the monies raised from their annual Broncos Wives Drive to Mayor Hickenlooper’s 10-year initative to end homelessness in Denver – Denver’s Road Home.  The Broncos Wives wanted to learn more about Denver’s Road Home and how they could help, this lead them to Project Homeless Connect which was held at INVESCO Field at Mile High last Friday, October 19, 2007. 
 
Project Homeless Connect is a partnership event betweeen Denver’s Road Home and Mile High United Way.  The event at INVESCO Field was Denver’s fifth Project Homeless Connect since the program’s inception in 2005.  Project Homeless Connect is a one-day event connecting homeless individuals and families to needed services — including health care, employment, legal assistance, permanent housing food, clothing, Social Security and food-stamp benefits and other community-wide resources — in one location to alleviate the burden of searching for services on their own.

More than 800 students, alumni, faculty and staff from Regis University along with Young Professionals of Denver (YPOD) worked one-on-one with homeless individuals, helping them prioritize their needs and escorting them to services that fit their needs.  The Broncos Wives volunteered in the child care area, and local employers were on site with job interviews. 

“Project Homeless Connect is a remarkable event that connects people with the services they need to get off the streets and into lives of stability and self sufficiency,” said Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper. “The team at INVESCO Field at Mile High made us feel especially welcome by hosting us on the Club Level. We are grateful to them, the Broncos Wives and Regis University for their partnership and commitment to serving the homeless — and many other populations — in our community.”

Jamie VanLeeuwen, Project Manager for Denver’s Road Home reported “as our last guest walked out of the stadium last Friday, we served 820 men, women and children who are homeless. Of those,  565 received medical services, 284 received flu shots, 265 received housing referrals and services, 409 received employment services, 81 left with resumes, 543 received access to benefits, 240 accessed legal services, and 70 children attended the child care area…a very extraordinary day for Project Homeless Connect!” 

The Broncos Wives and INVESCO Field at Mile High would like to thank Denver’s Road Home, Mile High United Way, Regis University Young Professionals of Denver, Epicurean Catering, Coca Cola, Shamrock Foods, Xerox, Corporate Express, and Halsell Brokerage & Distributing for being CHAMPIONS IN THE COMMUNITY and making Project Homeless Connect 5 a wonderful event!

The Broncos Wives gathered this past Sunday prior to the Broncos vs. Chargers game in an effort to tackle hunger and homelessness in Denver for their annual Broncos Wives Drive.  This year marked the 26th year of this great tradition within Broncos Country!  With Annabel Bowlen and Peggy Shanahan leading the charge alongside many players, coaches and staff member wives collecting cash donations at all of the gates prior to the game.  Many of wives even came with their children to help collect donations and to meet the Broncos Fans.

The Broncos Wives would like to thank ALL of the Broncos Fans that contributed helping them raise nearly $40,000 in cash donations and over 1600 pounds of food donations in their effort to support hunger and homelessness initiatives in Denver.

Cash donations are given to Denver Broncos Charities and distributed in the form of grants to Denver area non-profit organizations that help the hungry and homeless.  The non-perishable food donations are given to COMPA Food Bank Ministry and distributed to area food pantries.