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INDIANAPOLIS— When Cory Redding is inside of Lucas Oil Stadium he's almost always imploring the Colts faithful to be loud.
On Tuesday, Redding was back in a similar effort. But this time the cause wasn't a matter of wins and losses, rather a much bigger task.
Redding and a handful of Colts players headed down to Lucas Oil Stadium on Tuesday morning where over 4,000 volunteers gathered to pack one million meals for the third annual Kids Against Hunger of Central Indiana.
"I'm excited to be here on behalf of the Indianapolis Colts," Redding said to the volunteers prior to the starting of the event.
"I want to welcome and sincerely thank you for helping to put a stop to hunger."
The Kids Against Hunger program started the "Million Meal Marathon" three years ago with just three people.
The growth of the program was overwhelming on Tuesday as over 4,000 volunteers (1,500 students) came together for a day that will not only impact those globally but many in the state of Indiana.
"It's real special because 65,000 of the meals will stay here in the state of Indiana because of our sponsorship," Kevin Wilson, President of Indiana Soybean Alliance said.
"We have nine FFA (Future Farmers of America) chapters from across the state that are out here helping pack these meals as well. Each one of these chapters will be able to take some of these meals back to their home communities and pass them out to the needy families in their areas."
Tuesday's event isn't the only partnership that the Colts take part with Kids Against Hunger. For every tackle the Colts make this season, $10 will be donated to Kids Against Hunger.
Denny Maple, the President of Indiana Corn Marketing Council, helped sponsor Tuesday's event and he was very complimentary of what Redding has done over the past two years.
"Cory is a great spokesperson for us," Maple said on Tuesday. "He's a great partner, very willing and always has that big smile on his face."
Along with Redding, Colts players Dwayne Allen, Khaled Holmes, Josh McNary, Xavier Nixon and Matt Overton joined in Tuesday's efforts at Lucas Oil.
Prior to the event starting, Redding used the quote "a child saved is a soul saved, plus a life" to emphasize the type of influence the volunteers were having against the fight against hunger.
"I wouldn't be able to do what I do for a living if I didn't have a healthy meal to properly fuel my body to go out there and play at a high level," Redding said.
"Our children need that as well. They need a meal or two today, just to keep striving to be who they want to be in life. Today with all the volunteers here, everybody's help, we can make that possible."
