In December, Chanel Parker, quality-of-life coordinator for the Marion Superior Court Youth Services Center, was named the recipient of the Colts 2025 Inspire Change Changemaker Award. The award recognizes someone in each team's market who is making a difference in their community through social justice work.
The NFL Foundation gives each winner a $10,000 donation that will go towards the charity of the recipient's choice.
Parker's choice? Enlighten the environment she's spent 21 years pouring everything into.
The Youth Services Center moved into its new space roughly a year and a half ago, and Parker wanted to make the outdoor space more lively.
"I wanted to brighten up that courtyard," Parker said. "When we moved here, it was just like a blank canvas, and so the courtyard was like no color, no color, and so I want to brighten it up. And so when we got the donation, I was like, 'Brighten up their courtyard.'"
Parker found Michael Martin, also known as Kwazar, via social media and commissioned him to create the mural. Martin, an Indianapolis native, is also known for many other murals around the city, including one of Colts owner Jim Irsay at The Toy Pit. The project took Martin, along with the help of some of the residents, six long days to complete.
"When we talked about the artist, I was pretty adamant I wanted a local artist who looked like a lot of residents in our custody and care," chief operations officer for Marion Superior Court Paige Bova said. "The artistic abilities of many of these children that we care for is amazing, and you see their artwork in the posters and around the building, and I'm like, no, this is a real opportunity for us."
Colts players and cheerleaders have been visiting residents for almost a decade. Year after year, players line up to visit. This time around, it was the linebacker unit, safety Daniel Scott, kicker Spencer Shrader and rookie running back Seth McGowan. Players were split up into groups and spent time coloring, talking and playing basketball with residents with a goal to create positive change.
"I'm gonna speak with the organization about coming back and being proactive here," McGowan said. "I want to be an anchor for a lot of the kids in here. The impact that we're having on these kids is big, but the impact they had on me as well is big."
McGowan has made it a point to get to as many Community Tuesday events as he can this season. The running back is aware of the responsibility he has, both on and off the field.
"I think if you can get in the community and just maintain, you know, service to other people, kind of grounds you, keeps your mind fresh, it keeps your spirit fresh more than you," McGowan said. "And you know you get the opportunity to make a real impact, and you learn that you know you don't have to be a veteran. You don't have to be the biggest name in this sport to create real change."
