A Quiet History of Giving

Through the loving efforts and guidance of her parents, Connie acquired a genuine sense of family values and the importance of a good education.  This provided her the strong foundation that she ultimately instilled in her own family and continues to share with others.

The wife of the late Walter Payton, a football legend who was stricken with cancer and succumbed to this heart wrenching disease in 1999, Connie Payton has borne the challenges presented her with quiet grace and determination that has emerged as her trademark.  These qualities have served her well throughout a lifetime spent in positions of community service and in promoting family issues and family awareness.  In recognizing the importance a supportive loving family can provide, she has sought throughout her years of public service to draw attention to those issues that can divide and indeed destroy a family.

Achievement:

During Walter Payton’s life, he became a silent entrepreneur of giving, and Connie Payton shared in this commitment to make a difference in people’s lives, especially the innocent lives of neglected and abused children. 

Today, through the conception of the Walter & Connie Payton Foundation, Connie continues on with the integrity and dignity of the Payton name in caring for these thousands of children who found themselves as wards of the state.  It is through this foundation, that Connie continues to focus on what she considers her most important obligation and that is working closely with the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services.  The foundation hosts a “Holiday Giving Program”, which year after year helps provide thousands of gifts for needy children at Christmas, and is currently its largest program.  For the Christmas of 2002, the “Holiday Giving Program” reached out to 20,000 children.  In August, the “Back to School Drive” is sponsored by the foundation to provide school supplies to these children to help them start the school year with all the necessary supplies.

With Connie’s belief, that she was blessed to be a blessing to others, she strives to have the foundation research the possibilities of additional educational, mentorship, and sporting programs for these children to be a part of in the future.   

A critical illness knows no boundaries, and learning about cancer firsthand prompted Connie to establish the Walter Payton Cancer Fund.  This fund seeks to aid in finding an ultimate cure for cancer, and focuses on supporting efforts to find effective treatment to mitigate the ravages of the disease.  In addition to campaigning for this worthwhile cause, Connie felt compelled to reach out to others who have also found themselves subject to this disease.  Thus, her book “Stronger Than Cancer” was introduced.  This inspirational book extends to its readers an insight of how loved ones pull together to beat the odds, even if they know they can’t.  It also shares the triumphs of those that won their battle with this deadly disease.  Like Connie, this book proves to be honest and straight from the heart, and more importantly, it gives hope.

As a spokesperson to bring public awareness to the family unit, the list goes on and on.  To name a few, she was the guest speaker stressing the importance of family during “Parent’s Weekend” at Loyola University, the keynote speaker for Commencement for the University of Chicago, and many Chamber of Commerce community events within the State of Illinois.  Connie also brings her enthusiastic support as a keynote speaker on behalf of quality health care.  Again, to name a few, Humana Health Care, U.I.C. Guild, Midwest Nursing Spectrum, and the LaGrange Memorial Hospital for “Cancer Survival Day”. Connie also is a member of the Board for the Cancer Treatment Research Foundation in her endless effort to change the face of cancer at the bedside of patients today.

It was not until Walter’s plea for an organ donor that the awareness of this most precious gift of life hit home with the State of Illinois. As a living testimony to her father, Brittney Payton was instrumental in initiating the “Youth for Life” Remembering Walter Payton program.  In support of her daughter’s efforts, Connie also takes every opportunity to speak out on the importance of being an organ donor.  It is necessary to note, that after Walter’s televised plea for donors, the State of Illinois became the #1 State for registered organ donors.  The Payton family, together with Jesse White, has worked diligently for the State of Illinois to maintain this #1 status for the last four years.  The “Youth for Life” program is a tribute to what Connie, and the Payton family is all about and the accomplishments they’ve shared.  The existence of this on-going program is not centered on any special person or group.  It’s a program that will offer everyone an opportunity for the continuation of life.