Colts linebacker Darius Leonard is having an excellent year on the field and he’s also been making an impact off of it this year.
The NFL Players Association announced on Friday that Leonard has been named this week’s Community MVP. Leonard is being recognized for providing Thanksgiving meals to families in Indianapolis and in his hometown of Lake View, South Carolina.
Leonard provided meal kits to 70 Indianapolis families who are experiencing homelessness due to interpersonal abuse and domestic violence and his family handed out 100 more to Lake View families in need.
“My goal has always been to give back to the community as much as I can. I see myself in many of these people and their different situations and struggles. . . . I love what I do on the field, but I think what I am doing off the field is what makes me the man I am today,” Leonard said in a statement. “I try to attack giving back the same way I do with playing football, which is trying to be the best I possibly can be at it.”
The NFLPA will donate $10,000 to Leonard’s foundation or a charity of his choice. He will join the other weekly Community MVPs in being eligible for the Alan Page Community Award at the end of the year.