TERRE HAUTE – Pro Football Weekly announced Tuesday that Colts linebacker Gary Brackett is the 11th annual recipient of the Arthur S. Arkush Humanitarian Award.
The award is presented to an NFL player “whose contributions to the community and charitable organizations are especially outstanding.”
“It feels great,” Brackett said of winning the award. “Anytime you are recognized for what you do off the field, as far as giving back to the community, is an honor and it goes a long way.”
Brackett won the Humanitarian Award thanks to his continuous work with the IMPACT Foundation, a charity he founded in the spring of 2007. The IMPACT Foundation works hard to provide children affected by cancer with unique opportunities and resources they might not otherwise receive. Brackett has helped raise money through various programs including charity flag football games, an annual awards gala and Gary’s Locker, one of the foundation’s signature programs that provides children in area hospital with books, computers and other forms of entertainment.
“This year we have another locker scheduled to open up at Riley Hospital,” Brackett said. “The locker has all kinds of things kids can do while they are in the hospital getting treatment to occupy their time.”
In addition to his work with the IMPACT Foundation, Brackett still finds time to help serve the community in other ways. He said he runs an offseason brunch for 50-75 moms that have children with terminal diseases, hosts children at Colts home games and often visits kids in hospitals to “try and do something special and lift their spirits.”
The Arthur S. Arkush Humanitarian Award is not the first honor Brackett has received for his charitable work. In addition to various awards from around the community, Brackett was named the Colts Man of the Year in 2008.
For more on Brackett’s IMPACT Foundation, go to www.garybrackett.org.
