Josh Allen he opens up about how fatherhood has changed him in a very personal way. After welcoming his daughter Harper with wife Hailee Steinfeld Earlier this year, the Buffalo Bills quarterback says he now understands parents in crisis differently, especially those who face pain, fear and uncertainty with a child in the hospital.Allen shared those emotions during his annual “117 Holes for Charity” event, a one-day golf fundraiser that helps support the Patricia Allen Fund for Golisano Children’s Hospital of Buffalo. The event recently helped the fund reach an important milestone: $17 million in donations.
A speech that comes from the heart
In a clip shared by his Like a Farmer Podcast, Allen became emotional while speaking to families and supporters at the golf event. “Having my daughter… I look at you and your parents differently,” she said, pausing as she spoke. “Because I can imagine myself in that situation now where I never could.”That’s the part that seemed the hardest. Allen said that he could now imagine what it feels like to hold a son or daughter and that he wanted to take away every bit of pain they may feel. For someone who had never experienced fatherhood before, he said, the feeling had changed his perspective completely.He also told the families that they also inspire him, and that the Patricia Allen Fund was created not only to support children, but also to help parents and families who are going through incredibly difficult times.
Because the bottom matters so much to him
The Patricia Allen Fund has become one of the most significant parts of Allen’s off-field life. Developed with their input, it supports critical care teams at Golisano Children’s Hospital in Buffalo, and the foundation says 100% of donations go directly to caring for children and families in Western New York.The fund got back to a wave of fan support in 2020, when Bills fans began donating in $17 increments in honor of Allen’s jersey number and his late grandmother, Patricia Allen. Those donations quickly turned into a much larger effort and eventually helped create the fund that now bears his name.For Allen, this connection is personal. It’s not just a charity he supports because he plays in Buffalo. It’s about family, grief, community and a long-standing bond between the quarterback and the city.
FILE – Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen and his girlfriend, Hailee Steinfeld, pose on the red carpet at the NFL Honors awards show before the Super Bowl 59 football game, Feb. 6, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)
The toughest golf marathon around
The “117 Holes for Charity” event is not your average golf outing. It’s an all-day marathon in which Allen and others play 6.5 rounds from dawn to dusk to raise money for the Patricia Allen Fund. The event has been held annually since 2021 at Crag Burn Golf Club in East Aurora, New York.This year’s outing helped push the fund to the $17 million mark, which made Allen’s emotional remarks even more powerful. He wasn’t just talking about paternity in the abstract. He was speaking to a room full of people whose lives have been shaped by children’s health struggles and the support systems built around them.
Life seems different now
Allen, who was named the NFL’s 2024 MVP and is heading into his ninth season with the Bills, recently told PEOPLE that becoming a father has also changed his daily life. He said he loves being a dad, but admitted that his sleep schedule is definitely not what it used to be.That kind of honesty makes his charitable comments feel even more grounded. Fatherhood has not only changed how we think about families in need; he changed the rhythm of his own life, from sleep to preparation to priorities.He also said he’s excited about the Bills’ new $2 billion Highmark Stadium and expects the fans to love it. The team will begin preseason play here on August 15th against the Carolina Panthers before opening the regular season on the road against the Houston Texans on September 13th.
Because the fans are connected with him
Part of why Allen’s words resonate so strongly is that they feel real. He was not making a clean public relations speech. He was visibly moved, speaking as a new father and as someone who has spent years supporting families at Golisano Children’s Hospital.This combination of celebrity, sincerity and community loyalty is what made his charity work stand out. Fans have long donated to the cause in his honor, but now they’re also seeing a more personal side of the quarterback, one shaped by Harper’s arrival and a new understanding of what parents go through.
More than football
Allen is best known for what he does on the field, but this moment was about something bigger than football. It was about empathy, family and how becoming a parent can transform even the strongest of people.The event itself may have involved 117 holes of golf, but the core message was much simpler: when a child is sick, families need support, and those who have experienced this pain deserve to be seen. Allen said his new experience as a father made him realize that in a way he never could before.