Highbrow/Lowbrow: A weekly update on Denver culture from deliciously fancy to wonderfully mundane

STATUS: Highbrow

WHAT: Peach Pagano competing in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Man and Woman of the Year Fundraising Competition.

Peach with her two sons Mariano and Carlo

Peach with her two sons Mariano and Carlo

When Peach Pagano, Colorado native, learned that her brother Chuck Pagano, head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APML), her natural care-taking instinct clicked in and she immediately began seeking ways to help.  She found her answer in the Rocky Mountain Chapter of  The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) Man and Woman of the Year fundraising campaign. The campaign begins annually in March and lasts for 10 weeks, culminating in a Gala where the man and woman who raised the most money will be named. The funds that are raised during the competition are used to fund research for blood cancer cures, provide local families with support, and additional costly patient services while undergoing treatments.

It has always been a family affair with the Pagano’s. Peach and her five siblings are no strangers to giving back to the Colorado community.  Together they began “The Mile High Football Camp” 36 years ago, providing countless young men with the opportunity to harness skills and values through the discipline, fraternity, and fundamentals of football. It is a great opportunity to learn blocking and tackling in sports and in life.  Chuck and brother John, the defensive coordinator for the San Diego Chargers, coach the young men, while the rest of the family runs the operation. The Pagano’s rely on local leaders of the community to get involved in the program and help to mentor the participants.

Peach with her fellow Man & Woman of the Year candidates  Casey Carmichael, Michelle Draeger, and Michael Gulglielmi  Photo credit: Leider Photography

Peach with her fellow Man & Woman of the Year candidates Casey Carmichael, Michelle Draeger, and Michael Gulglielmi
Photo credit: Leider Photography

Peach, along with her family, has dedicated most of her life to giving back. She has a full-time job in the health care industry working with special needs adults.  She is a mother of two boys Mariano, 12 and Carlo, 15  and says that she wants to lead by example. Doing that, she says, makes sure she instills the Pagano family motto “Faith, Family, Education, Sports and Friends.” That has proven a powerful formula. She is hoping to raise the most funds and awareness possible for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society as a way to honor the two most important things in her life; family and community. She turns tragedy into an opportunity for betterment, and that dear reader’s is always the highbrow way.

Read more about Peach’s campaign and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society at: http://www.mwoy.org/pages/rm/denver13/PaganoStrong