December 29, 2004

More than 150 teenagers at the Boys & Girls Club of Tennessee Valley were on the receiving end of several gifts from Peyton Manning's PeyBack Foundation on December 15.

Manning, who played at the University of Tennessee, arranged for the special surprise evening. Each person went home with a Colts Reebok hat, a box of Wheaties with Peyton on the cover, and a new pair of Reebok tennis shoes.

The crowd sat quietly as a video from Manning appeared on the video screen explaining his absence due to the NFL schedule and what was on schedule for the rest of the evening. Manning's first real job took place in the summer of 1995 at Caswell center of the Boys & Girls Club in Knoxville.

"A lot of kids don't have the resources to have more than one pair of shoes," said Phillip Hamilton, staff member at Walter P. Taylor Boys & Girls Club. "It will help them out a whole lot."

The PeyBack Foundation distributes grants and holds several events each year in Tennessee.