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Retired New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has always tried to give back to his community. His latest venture involves domestic violence prevention.
The future Hall of Famer, who was a fixture in his community when Hurricane Katrina struck, opened up about his latest cause on the AP Pro Football Podcast, Thirteen Anchors:
"Yeah, so I've been doing domestic violence stuff for a while now started back in college for me and you know, Purina, and Red Rover kind of reached out and said, 'Hey, we feel like you're a perfect fit. You know, you have a dog that you love dearly, you understand the importance of pets in your life and the role they play and also you're an outspoken advocate for this call.'"
For Brees, domestic violence prevention is something he's been passionate about for a long time. It's also something he knows pets can help with, hence the latest venture with these brands.
He saw an area that he could help in and leapt at the opportunity to get involved in that way:
"So that was kind of like the initial meeting there. And then you know, just hearing about the issue at hand and realizing that only 15% domestic violence shelters allow pets and that I mean, about 50% of people delay living in situations because they can't bring their pets with them. And that's a life or death situation."
For victims, their pets might be their only source of comfort and they're often not allowed to bring them, something Brees believes is not helping at all.
Drew Brees and his charitable efforts
The legendary Saints quarterback was always involved in his community and tried to find ways to give back and improve the world during his long career. That obviously hasn't stopped now that he's retired.
In the late 2000s, his foundation raised over $1.5 million to rebuild schools, playgrounds and other things that Hurricane Katrina destroyed.
They also raise money annually to help improve the quality of life and care for cancer patients in the area. To that end, they have raised over $45 million in total.
He and his wife say that they have donated $33 million themselves to charity.
