When Joseph Petrongolo was just a wee little tadpole living in the big city of Atlantic City, he didn't really have much to do. So, he stared out of the glass bowl he called home and looked at all the nature that surrounded him. And by surround, I mean the single tree that he could see half of from where he was. When his General Manager gave him time off over the holidays and told him to "stop grumbling about Danny King" and "go do something productive", he realized that this was a perfect opportunity for him to take a trip back to his home town and spread the gift of nature to the people. Petrongolo lead a tree planting operation across the city on the date of December 20th. Despite the cold temperatures, more than 100 individuals showed up, and together they planted more than 300 trees across the city. The operation was considered a massive success by everyone who was involved and the mayor of the city even allowed Petrongolo one free spin at a penny slot machine in any casino of his choice (he didn't win). Even Danny King showed up to help plant some trees, but not before a crowd of volunteers swarmed him and asked for everything from autographs to pictures to marriage. Nobody ever asked Joe for marriage :0.
Jack Banks spends the entire holiday season working in his community. He follows the example set by his parents, who have served in their communities throughout their lives. Jack began his own journey of giving back in high school and has continued it throughout college and the professional ranks.
In year's past Banks has organized fundraisers, collected donations, and served meals to those in need. This year, however, the New York Silverbacks star linebacker as decided to step things up in a big way.
"Everything is bigger and bolder in New York, and that is the kind of attitude I plan to bring to my efforts this year", noted Banks at a recent press conference.
"This year I am launching my new foundation 'Bank On It' where our goal is to provide meals, housing, and educational opportunities to those in need throughout the greater New York area. And I'm happy to announce that I'm not doing this alone. Many of my teammates here in New York have happily agreed to chip in to make sure we're serving our community in the best possible ways."
Banks wrapped up his press conference by adding, "And we're not just doing this in New York. I'm extremely proud to announce that we'll be expanding this effort into all the areas I've been lucky enough to call home for any amount of time. We'll be opening chapters of the foundation in the Bay Area, Norfolk, and Honolulu."
Every holiday season, Felix Archstone likes to give back in a way that most people probably wouldn't think of giving back with. Due to his barbershop talent, he dedicates himself to giving out free haircuts on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day after his usual celebrating of the holiday with family. Keeping your hair nice and tidy is something extremely important that's often overlooked, and it's also something not many people can just have access to. It's not easy for everyone to style or cut their hair all pretty and proper, or in a way that cleans it up when needed. So, Felix has always believed there's no greater gift he could give, than the gift of a sick drip. Outside of that, now that he's the big time ISFL player that he is, he's focused on making himself a known presence around Baltimore and volunteering at toy drives for children as well as offering his services to dress up as Santa, among other things. His big stature allows him to pull off the whole jolly vibe of the holiday, so it's a perfect fit for him. The holidays are all about giving, and while it's nice to be on the receiving end of that giving, it's important to always put yourself out there and do something unexpected for people when you have the ability to do it. That philosophy is what drives Felix around this time of year, and hopefully one that drives the rest of his fellow players as well.
Big Slammu is the rookie defensive lineman for the Yellowknife Wraiths. He is not having the most visible season as he is being gobbled up at the line of scrimmage instead of the other way around. He is improving week to week though and keeping his spirits up. It’s charity week at the team facilities as each member of the team is contributing in their own way to the Yellowknife community. Big Slammu has decided that he wanted to do a big “Shark Week Christmas” with the local hospital. There’ll be an activity room with shark themed picture books, coloring books and even a shark on display (albeit a baby shark). In addition to that, there would be Street Shark airings, fun for the whole family. And other movies with prominent sharks like Jaws, and Finding Nemo. And finally, there would be some presents handed out, like autographed Slammu jersey’s and footballs as keepsakes for all the sick kids at the hospital.
The player who gives back the most to the community has a special shoutout from the organization after the holiday season and Big Slammu is clearly in the running with his Shark themed “Shark Week Christmas” at the children’s hospital. All participants have stated a rip-roaring good time!
My player Adam Mellott likes to volunteer by going to different schools around Mexico and New Orleans, talk to kids who have the dream of becoming a football player one day, and helping them out by teaching them some of the things he has learned being in the DSFL and ISFL, working with them one on one to help train them, and also having a scrimmage with some of them so they can also have some fun while also learning more about the game.
He first started doing this when he first arrived in Tijuana as being in Mexico, there is very little Football in the country, so Mellott is going around to bring more awareness and love to the sport in Mexico, hopeing the one day his efforts will lead to Football being as large as some of the other sports in Mexico.
Mellott continued this tradition when arriving in New Orleans even though Football is a bigger thing in America, but he still travels back to Mexico to achieve his original goal. On top of all of this, he also will give out gifts to these children and other ones in need to help bring joy to them and to the families of them. After having the opportunity he has been given, Mellott tries to give back as much as he can.