Brooks wins PFW’s Arthur S. Arkush Humanitarian Award

July 5, 2001

Derrick Brooks, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Pro Bowl linebacker, has won the 2001 Arthur S. Arkush Humanitarian Award, given to the NFL player whose work in his community is hands-on and benefits a good cause. The award is named after the late founder of Pro Football Weekly, and participating in the voting are PFW's editors, columnists and NFL correspondents.

Brooks is in his sixth year sponsoring "Brooks’ Bunch," a group of inner-city kids from the Tampa Bay-area Boys & Girls Clubs that he adopted almost immediately after signing with the Buccaneers as a first-round draft pick in 1995.

Over the years, Brooks has created many different programs that give Brooks’ Bunch children opportunities they would not otherwise have. He purchases tickets for 24 Boys & Girls Club members to attend every Buccaneers home game. He also gives club members new shoes at Christmas and provides Thanksgiving food baskets to the families whose kids attend the clubs.

One of the most unique aspects of the Brooks’ Bunch program is the annual educational field trips through which Brooks rewards Boys & Girls Club members who have exhibited hard work and good behavior in school. Last June, Brooks took 20 Boys & Girls Club members on a 12-day trip to Africa, where they visited Cape Town, Johannesburg, Swaziland and enjoyed a safari at a private game reserve.

Brooks is planning his next Brooks’ Bunch trip for July. The "Wild, Wild West" adventure will involve approximately 20 Boys & Girls Club members who will see such sites as the Grand Canyon, an Indian reservation, Hoover Dam, Carlsbad Cavern Park, the Golden Gate Bridge and Redwood National Park. The trip will mark the fifth educational journey made by the Brooks’ Bunch.

The other four finalists for the award were the Cowboys' Ebenezer Ekuban, the Lions' James Jones, the Seahawks' Shawn Springs and the Chiefs' Tony Gonzalez.

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