Video: Broncos’ Wesley Woodyard Hosts Charity Dinner For At-Risk Youth

Wesley Woodyard (52) during the AFC divisional round playoff game against the Baltimore Ravens at Sports Authority Field. (Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports)

The Denver Broncos capped off Be a Champion in the Community week Thursday with a posh dinner put on by Wesley Woodyard and his charity, the 16Ways Foundation.

16Ways aims to help at-risk youth achieve their highest possible academic and social levels in order to become productive, contributing members of society. The foundation helps kids build their self-esteem and self-awareness by providing mentors who promote educational and professional development.

This wasn’t a dinner for players to sit down and enjoy, however. Woodyard and many of his teammates including Mike Adams, Chris Harris, Kevin Vickerson, Orlando Franklin, Chris Clark, and Duke Ihenacho, served as waitstaff for the night.

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock was also in attendance.

“He’s a blessing to the city of Denver,” Hancock said of Woodyard. “It’s been exciting to watch his development as a leader of the Denver Broncos, but what he’s shown is he’s becoming more than just a football player. He’s a leader off the field. I’ve worked with him raising money for the homeless, gathering gifts for children around the holidays, and he just reaches out to young people year round.”

Woodyard isn’t just well-liked in the community. His teammates think the world of him too, and will show up to any event he puts on.

“I didn’t even know what I was doing,” Mike Adams said. “He just told me he had an event and I showed up. I didn’t know we were serving food.”

It doesn’t matter what Woodyard has going. His teammates show up in throngs. For the 16Ways football camp on Saturday, a reported 25+ Broncos players are slated to attend and coach kids ages 8-14 year-old kids.

I talked with Woodyard after the dinner to discuss his foundation and his off season.

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