NFL fans and the Pepsi Refresh Project awarded $100,000 to the charity chosen by Drew Brees, quarterback for the New Orleans Saints. More than 500,000 fans voted online and via text message and chose to give the grant to the Hope Lodge in New Orleans.

 

“I’m thrilled that $100,000 will be going to the Hope Lodge, which will provide cancer patients and their caregiver’s rooms through the Pepsi Refresh Project,” Brees said, in a statement. “We’re all winners in this project. These grants will help make a real difference in our communities. Thanks to the fans who voted, the support has been outstanding for all of us.”

 

Fans had the choice between charities chosen by Brees, New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez and Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware. Although Sanchez and Ware’s choices were not chosen by the fans, Pepsi awarded each $25,000 in grants. Sanchez’s grant went to help raise awareness around the signs of Type 1, or juvenile, diabetes, and Ware supported a charity that provides a safe environment for abused, abandoned and neglected children.

 

The Pepsi Refresh project will provide more than $20 million in grants this year to foster ideas that will improve America’s communities. Find out more at www.refresheverything.com.