Broncos, publisher step up for Rev. Kelly's Open Door kids
Charlie Brennan, Rocky Mountain News
Published January 30, 2007 at midnight
Denver pro sports franchises and others are lining up to assist the city's most-publicized nonprofit working to steer at-risk youth away from gang activity and toward more productive lifestyles.
The Denver Broncos announced Monday that the team is establishing the Darrent Williams Memorial Grant, a $50,000 contribution to be matched by $50,000 from Doug Morton, of the Morton Publishing Co. The grant will be paid over five years to Denver's Open Door Youth Gang Alternatives.
The grant is named for 24-year-old cornerback Darrent Williams, who was shot and killed after leaving a Denver nightclub early Jan. 1.
Citing the Broncos' longstanding relationship with Open Door and its director, Broncos President and CEO Pat Bowlen said in a statement, "We have come to believe in the commitment and the devotion of Reverend Leon Kelly to prevent gang violence through the work of Open Door, and it is a wonderful first step in formally memorializing Darrent."
Kelly was contacted more than a week ago by Colorado Rockies manager Clint Hurdle, and he is meeting soon with representatives of both the Rockies' and Denver Nuggets' organizations.
"They see we're working with 100 to 110 (future) Darrent Williamses every day at our school and trying to give them structure," Kelly said.
The Broncos-Morton donation, Kelly said, "hopefully will set the pace, for the Nuggets and the Rockies to step up. There are forces like the Broncos who aren't willing to let this die and who are committed to keep this in the eyes of the public."
Kelly, through Open Door, runs an after-school program at Wyatt-Edison Charter School in east Denver.
The program lasts two hours each day, with the first hour devoted to study and the second given over to team sports and other activities.
Kelly said the contributions of the Broncos and others are important to a program that last year ran on a total budget of $250,000.
"That's what they (the Broncos) pay for one of their lower-status players," said Kelly.
He added that he appreciates "anything that is proactively done in the wake of this, for the interests of the community, of the people."
Brennanc@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2742
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