Marsh and Manning: Tight Bonds

Robert Vosburgh

WHEN PEYTON MANNING needed a supermarket partner for his Project 18 program, he immediately turned to Marsh Supermarkets. The two have enjoyed a long-term professional relationship that remains strong today.

“When Peyton first came to Indianapolis, we were a sponsor of the Colts,” said Connie Gardner, the retailer's senior director of community relations.

Manning was drafted by the Colts in 1998, and has been a leader on and off the field. In the community, he has lent time, money and his name to various causes, most notably St. Vincent, which renamed its children's hospital after him in 2007. Shortly after his arrival, he started the Peyback Foundation, which helps disadvantaged children in three states.

Most recently Marsh joined Manning and the organization in handing out Thanksgiving dinners to the needy.

“They select 800 families in Indianapolis and provide them with Thanksgiving groceries,” said Gardner. “We load it all into Marsh trucks, and go down to Riverside Park. These families have a voucher and we put the groceries right in the car.”