Two former Eastern Michigan University football greats
are up for 2006 Man of the Year Honors in the National
Football League. Former EMU quarterback Charles
Batch (1994-97) has been named Man of the Year by the Pittsburgh
Steelers while former EMU standout offensive tackle Barry
Stokes (1992-95) has been named Man of the Year by the
Detroit Lions.
Batch and Stokes are two of the 32 NFL team Man of the
Year winners who qualified for the league's national 2006
Walter Payton Man of the Year award. The overall Man of
the Year winner will be announced during NFL Commissioner
Roger Goodell's annual press conference prior to Super
Bowl XLI in Miami Feb. 4.
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A FEW GOOD MEN: Former Eastern Michigan
University
football greats (from left) Charlie
Batch and Barry Stokes
garnered team NFL Man
of the Year honors for the
Pittsburgh Steelers
and Detroit Lions, respectively. The two
are
part of 32 NFL team representatives eligible for
overall
NFL Man of the Year honors. The winner will
be announced
Feb. 4 at a press conference during
Super Bowl XLI.
|
The prestigious award was renamed in 1999 for the legendary
Pro Football Hall of Fame running back from the Chicago
Bears. The Walter Payton Man of the Year Award has been
given annually since 1970.
Batch established Project C.H.U.C.K., which stands for
Continuously Helping Uplift Community Kids. Project C.H.U.C.K.
is in the fifth year of hosting a youth basketball league
in the Homestead, Pa., community for boys and girls ages
7-18. Through this tournament, children learn sportsmanship
as well as valuable life lessons from a variety of speakers.
Speakers include University of Pittsburgh Head Basketball
Head Coach Jamie Dixon, Denver Nuggets point guard Earl
Boykins, who was a former EMU All-American basketball player;
and many of Batch's teammates from the Steelers.
Batch instituted The Best of the Batch Foundation to benefit
youths in disadvantaged communities in the Pittsburgh area.
The foundation works with local schools to promote education,
and rewards elementary school students with field trips
if they show improvement or maintain good grades. Batch
is very hands-on and accompanies the children on the field
trips, which include visits to the zoo, circus and Pittsburgh
Pirates baseball games. The Best of the Batch Foundation
also conducted a Toys For Tots toy drive. Batch and several
of his Steelers teammates welcomed people as they donated
new, unwrapped toys that were distributed to needy children
during the holidays.
Batch has mostly funded his projects with his own money,
and even spent $50,000 out of his own pocket to refurbish
basketball courts in the Homestead and Pittsburgh area.
In addition to his own foundations, Batch is the Steelers
United Way representative. He speaks to groups about the
importance of volunteering for United Way agencies and
encourages them to donate to a variety of United Way agencies.
Offensive lineman Barry Stokes has been selected as the
Detroit Lions' 2006 Robert Porcher Man of the Year, which
recognizes off-the-field community service as well as playing
excellence. Stokes is one of 32 finalists, one from each
NFL team, who receives $1,000 for his foundation.
In his ninth year in the NFL and first full season with
the Lions, Stokes has proven to be an outstanding citizen
in the Detroit community and across his home state of Michigan
through his efforts away from the field.
The mission of the Barry Stokes Foundation is to offer
hope for a better tomorrow for the youth of the community
as they grow spiritually, athletically and academically.
The Barry Stokes Foundation supports the following charities:
Make-A-Wish Foundation, Barry Stokes Youth Football, Food
Bank of Eastern Michigan, Locks of Love and Davison High
School's Scholarship Fund.
Named after Stokes in 2004, the Barry Stokes Youth Football
League provides more than 900 Davison area youth the opportunity
to learn life lessons about teamwork, perseverance and
dedication. The league features 24 teams of kids, ages
7-13, as well as cheerleaders for each team. The youth
are taught fundamentals, which will serve them well as
they advance in the game. The opportunity to assist the
football league brings Stokes full circle, having begun
his football career as a member of the Davison Steelers.
In June 2004, The Barry Stokes Foundation, with a donation
of $10,000 from Home Depot and support from Central Michigan
Construction and many others in the community, completed
work on a new storage building and workshop for the league.
The Foundation also supplies funds to provide scholarships
for children who cannot afford to participate, as well
as funding to keep equipment up-to-date and safe for the
players.
In 2005, Stokes decided to commit to growing his hair
out in support of one of the children he supports through
the Make-A-Wish Foundation. One of the criteria for donating
one's hair to Locks of Love is that it must be at least
12 inches long. He reached the 12-inch mark in November
2005.
Locks of Love is a not-for-profit organization that provides
hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under
the age of 18 with medical hair loss. These custom-fitted
hair prosthetics are provided free of charge or on a sliding
scale to children whose families meet the Locks of Love
Board of Directors' guidelines.
Having grown up in Davison, Mich., Stokes feels it
is important to give back to those who helped him be successful.
"I was blessed by a strong support group of teachers,
coaches and families. That support, love and encouragement
gave me the strength, perseverance and dedication that
has pushed me to a successful NFL career," said Stokes.
Stokes has created a scholarship fund at Davison High
School, which awards scholarships to student-athletes who
show a spirit of dedication, determination and academic
excellence. The goal is to create an endowment to fund
these scholarships in future years.
Note: The Pittsburgh Steelers and Detroit Lions provided
press releases for this story.
