SANTA CLARA, California — The end of the NFL postseason is known for highlighting excellence on the field at the highest level. Less visible — but just as powerful — is the leadership that many NFL players, legends, and their families demonstrate off the field through their commitment to strengthening their communities.
A week before the NFL’s biggest game, Stand Together supported and elevated the philanthropic work of player partners whose efforts reflect a belief in bottom-up, community-led solutions.
Leaders like Demario and Tamela Davis. Demario Davis is an all-pro NFL linebacker and a team captain for the New Orleans Saints. The couple champions the benefits of community-led solutions to education and mental health. Mindy and Arik Armstead, the Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end, demonstrate how exposing young people to new careers sets them up for a life of fulfillment and contribution. And Tommi and Troy Vincent, the former NFL cornerback, show that kids thrive when they get the support they need.
Their contributions are not only changing communities — they’re modeling how Americans can make positive change of their own.
The stakes couldn’t be higher: 36 million Americans live in poverty, over 48 million struggle with substance use disorder, and only about a third think the American Dream is still attainable. Too often, Americans simply don’t see others stepping up, so they assume that no one is and stay on the sidelines.
But when fans see their favorite players serving as trusted leaders in their communities and demonstrating lived experience with the issues they focus on, it sends a powerful message. It gives people permission to act, shifting them from spectators to changemakers in their communities. The result is a chain reaction, one in which neighbors step up and renew the belief that progress is possible because everyone can play a role in making the world around them better.
Check out some of the inspiring stories and images:
On Vincent Country Safe Zone Activity Day, Love Thy Neighbor CDC — the organization founded by the Vincents — hosted students, teachers, and the community at Burckhalter Elementary School in Oakland, California. More than 200 students from pre-K through fifth grade were present, and all attendees experienced a full day of fun, food, wellness, and engaging sports activities.
Love Thy Neighbor CDC believes that when children are seen, supported, and encouraged, entire communities are strengthened.
“Our work has always been rooted in the belief that when children feel supported and inspired, their confidence grows, their potential expands, and their dreams begin to take shape,” Troy Vincent said.
Vincent Country Safe Zone Activity Day is an annual event geared toward students. The activities for the event’s ninth edition focused on mental health, wellness, education, and empowerment.
Troy Vincent — who played 16 NFL seasons — led a physical fitness session, and the San Francisco 49ers hosted an NFL Flag Football Zone to energize and excite Burckhalter’s students through physical and mental fitness. The event also featured a mural unveiling and the introduction of a fully stocked, on-site food pantry.
NFL players and legends spoke about the causes that matter to them on Radio Row — the event’s media hub in San Francisco.
“We’ve been able to have a network in education that can really help us change the landscape of how education is done in our country,” said Demario Davis, a former educator who is teaming with Stand Together to create more individual learning opportunities for every student. “That’s who Stand Together is.”
Former NFL MVP and Stand Together partner Shaun Alexander discussed how his work with Stand Together has helped him support current and former NFL players in “finding their why” and creating a bigger impact. He noted that Stand Together connects athletes and their teams with nonprofits and social entrepreneurs who are scaling proven community-led solutions to the issues that they care about in their communities.
“It’s programs like that that we think are just changing the country for good, changing families, building people together,” he said.
For the second year, Stand Together partnered with the Off the Field NFL Wives Association in hosting its annual charity fashion show. Stand Together created a backstage experience that connected participating models with nonprofit leaders and opened the door to meaningful partnership opportunities. Among the dozens of current and former NFL spouses who attended was Dionne Boldin, the wife of NFL legend Anquan Boldin.
Stand Together provided curated gift bags featuring products from its community of nonprofit partners — including Thistle Farms, Unsheltered, and the Women’s Bean Project. These gifts help create meaningful jobs and support women overcoming trafficking, addiction, and homelessness. The bag also featured Tommi Vincent’s “Table of Life” book.
The NFL’s Man of the Year winners and alumni gathered in San Francisco for a luncheon focused on their legacies. The group discussed purpose-driven leadership, their shared values, and how they can collaborate.
Arik Armstead — the NFL’s 2024 Man of the Year — and his wife Mindy operate the Armstead Academic Project, which works with business leaders to expose high school students to different careers, including many that don’t require a degree. Demario Davis was nominated for the award this year.
As part of the celebrations, the NFL’s 2025 Man of the Year club winners and two former Man of the Year winners ventured to Old School Café, a restaurant run by young people in San Francisco, for Demario Davis' Leadership Huddle. The meal was an opportunity for attendees to talk about the work they’re doing in their communities, discuss what drives their service, and find opportunities to collaborate.
“Let’s push everybody in love — like a big family can — to help all those who are in tough situations,” Alexander said.
The Stand Together community partners with changemakers who are tackling the root causes of America’s biggest problems.
Learn more about Stand Together’s top issue areas and explore ways you can partner with us.
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