Janine Davis, founder of Girl Talk, fondly recalled when a young Julius Peppers new to the NFL first reached out to her organization.

"He was one of the first people to make a huge check presentation to Girl Talk when we founded the organization 15 years ago," Davis said. "I remember him calling me up and saying, 'I want to contribute to your organization.'

"And I was like, 'Is this really Julius? The Julius Peppers?'"

Peppers, while still understated in his late thirties, was even quieter in his early twenties. Very few people knew about that donation, but now that he's spreading the word it's serving to increase awareness.

"To be able to be connected with Julius and with the Carolina Panthers…is extremely impactful," said Charis Blackmon, program director for the Center for Community Transitions. "The platform that Julius has has raised awareness of parental incarceration in Charlotte."

John Martin, who founded the Young Black Leadership Alliance with his wife, agreed.

"To have someone of his notoriety supporting us, it's a big deal," Martin said. "He tweeted out 'YLBA' and our numbers went off the charts."

But it's not about a press conference or an opportunity to toot his own horn for Peppers. And it's not just about cutting a check.

"He actually came to our space and spent some time with some of our young people," Martin said.

Peppers has more time to give now that he's no longer focused on football. Late last season, when the Panthers were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, Peppers said he "started to get some closure on it, that this was probably going to be it."

"I thought it was time," he said. "It felt like the right time."

Now Peppers has time on his hands, admitting that he felt a sense of relief when it hit him that he won't be returning to the stadium in 10 days when the Panthers begin offseason workouts.

"Right now I'm just spending a lot of times with my kids – getting them up, getting them ready for school, dropping them off, working out every now and then, running errands, doing stuff around the house and picking the kids up and spending time with them after school," Peppers said. "Just doing regular stuff, taking this time to relax and enjoy freedom."