Vick helps renovate football field

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PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick's $200,000 donation to revitalize a city park is a story of second chances, a community leader said.

The Team Vick Foundation's contribution is part of a multi-million dollar project, led by the city's Fairmount Park Conservancy, to transform Hunting Park, a blighted crime haven, The Philadelphia Inquirer said Tuesday.

The park's football field, now called Team Vick Field, will be restored with Vick's donation, which came after Kathryn Ott Lovell, executive director of the conservancy, heard Vick speak last year to a high school audience.

"I was completely blown away by this guy," she said. "Hunting Park is his story. This is the story of second chances. This about the redemption and rebirth of a park and an entire community."

Vick was impressed by the potential of the park, he said.

"That was mainly the reason why I committed to this project. I know what it's like to not have certain things. Being able to relate to that made me more inclined to do something," said Vick, whose professional football career was interrupted by imprisonment on charges relating to a dog-fighting ring.