The following is a guest blog written by Lucia Madera, a Keystone Club member of the Denver Broncos Boys & Girls Club. Lucia participated in the annual NFL Hometown Huddle with Mile High United Way and the Broncos on Tuesday, October 14th, a day selected to highlight fitness in partnership with the American Heart Association and NFL’s What Moves U program. The kids enjoyed a 2-lap Fitness Walk around INVESCO Field, while receiving encouragement from Denver Broncos players Jack Williams, Carlton Powell, Wesley Woodyard, Calvin Lowry, Niko Koutouvides, Eddie Royal, Darrell Hackney, and Louis Green.
Thanks to the Broncos sponsoring the Boys & Girls Club, the Montbello community has changed drastically. Before we had a Boys & Girls Club in Montbello, most of the kids spent their free time in the streets getting in trouble or at home watching TV. When the Broncos Boys & Girls Club opened in August 2003, a world of opportunities opened for many. When I started attending the Boys & Girls Club, I began to be more physically active. I no longer stayed at home to watch TV. I began to play sports such as soccer, basketball, volleyball and even football. Staying involved in the club has kept me and many other kids and teens out of trouble. The Boys & Girls Club staff has made sure to keep us active by introducing programs like What Moves U. This is a program designed to encourage kids to be more physically active, by sponsoring fun motivating activities.
On Tuesday, October 14th, the Broncos invited all the Metro Denver Boys & Girls Clubs to Invesco Field for an afternoon of fun exercise. Some of the football players came out and encouraged us to have fun with exercise without competition. For many of the kids, just the fact that the football players were there to support us encouraged them to try hard and have fun. The presence of the players meant a lot to the kids participating. As I recall, everyone who attended in this activity, including the adults, left with a smile on their face, as well as the satisfaction of accomplishing something great. For all of this, I would like to thank the Denver Broncos, The American Heart Association, and Mile High United Way.
-Lucia Madera, Denver Broncos Boys & Girls Club
Madera is pictured with safety Calvin Lowry at the Hometown Huddle event.
Jake Grilley / DenverBroncos.com