Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson, who stands on the verge of breaking the NFL’s single-season rushing record less than a year after major knee surgery, is honored this week by getting his fifth cover of Sports Illustrated.
The SI cover calls this the year of Adrian Peterson. And it certainly is, both on and off the field. The current leader in the NFL for rushing yards, is also a leader on the charity front. AP has opened his checkbook to donate $50,000 from his All Day Foundation to the disaster response veteran service organization, Team Rubicon. One of the most valuable offensive players for the Minnesota Vikings since 2007, Peterson, also known as “AP,” first joined the team after an award-winning career at perennial college football powerhouse The University of Oklahoma. Since playing for the Vikings, AP has risen to prominence as the league’s leading rusher, earning numerous accolades and setting both NFL and Vikings franchise records in the process. Team Rubicon is an organization that empowers experienced military veterans to deploy rapid emergency response and relief teams to natural disaster sites and other crisis areas around the world.
“Military veterans choose to serve even after they take off the uniform because they want to dedicate themselves to a cause larger than their own,” said Peterson. “Supporting organizations like Team Rubicon before, during, and after times of disaster allows them to continue their important missions in communities worldwide.”
Team Rubicon was created in 2010 and has already lead response and relief missions across both the nation and the globe, activating their veteran emergency response teams (VERTS) in countries such as Burma, Chile, Haiti, Pakistan and Sudan in addition to helping on the home front. Team Rubicon focuses on the integration of veterans into their communities by empowering them to be civic leaders through the utilization of their military skills and experience in times of crisis. As a lead nonprofit partner for Got Your 6, the entertainment industry-backed campaign devoted to changing the conversation around military veterans in America, Team Rubicon has committed to engage veterans and military family members in 1.5 million hours of volunteer service under their Got Your 6 leadership pillar.
“When our country is in need, veterans respond,” said Jacob Wood, President and Co-Founder of Team Rubicon. “Adrian’s generous support of our mission will enable Team Rubicon to broaden and accelerate our response efforts in future crisis situations.”
About Team Rubicon
Team Rubicon (TR) unites the skills and experience of military veterans with first responders to rapidly deploy emergency response teams into crisis situations. TR offers veterans a chance to continue their service by helping and empowering those afflicted by disasters, and also themselves. For more about Team Rubicon, visit www.teamrubiconusa.org.