Houston's Jalen Pitre Named Week 11 NFLPA Community MVP
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Jalen Pitre has been selected as this season’s Week 11 NFLPA Community MVP after he provided 300 Thanksgiving meals to Houston families in need and helped raised more than $25,000 (and counting) toward the fight against childhood hunger.
“It is a true honor to named as NFLPA Community MVP and have the opportunity to shine a light on the food insecurity issues in my hometown community and support Kids Meals,” Pitre said. “I have always wanted to make an impact in the community, and there is no better way to support an organization that strives to make sure kids have food to eat and smiles on their faces.”
The Houston Texans safety spent his day off this past week personally handing out 300 Thanksgiving meals to families in his hometown during a drive-thru distribution. In partnership with Kids Meals Inc. and United Healthcare, Pitre hosted the event to connect with community members and ease their burdens ahead of the upcoming holiday.
This outreach served as the latest effort in Pitre’s Feed 5 More Campaign, which he launched at the start of the season to raise awareness for one of Houston’s greatest issues: food insecurity among children. Through his online and text fundraising campaign, more than $13,000 has been raised for Kids Meals Inc. Pitre also donated a dinner with him and memorabilia to the non-profit’s annual luncheon auction, which ultimately raised another $12,000 toward their mission. His goal is to raise at least $250,000, with Group1 Automotive agreeing to match all donations up to that amount.
The second-year defender out of Baylor has also spent time packing up meals at the Kids Meals headquarters and taking part in surprise deliveries of free, nutritious food to Houston families. Additionally, Pitre partnered with a local grocery store to start a birthday club that provides gifts and cakes for foster children in Houston in celebration of their special day.
In honor of Pitre being named this week’s Community MVP, the NFLPA is making a $10,000 contribution to his foundation or charity of choice. In turn, Pitre will take part in a virtual or in-person visit to a school or children’s hospital. Along with the other 2023-24 Community MVPs, he will also become eligible for this year’s Alan Page Community Award, which is the highest honor that the NFLPA can bestow upon a player.
Now in its 10th season, the Community MVP campaign is part of the NFLPA’s continued efforts to support the year-round, civic outreach and engagement of its player members. Please visit the NFLPA Community MVP website to learn more about the program.
2023-24 NFLPA Community MVP winners:
Week 1: Alexander Mattison, Minnesota Vikings
Week 2: Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons
Week 3: Justin Hardee, New York Jets
Week 4. Frank Ragnow, Detroit Lions
Week 5: Arik Armstead, San Francisco 49ers
Week 6: Emmanuel Ogbah, Miami Dolphins
Week 7: Calais Campbell, Atlanta Falcons
Week 8: Cam Heyward, Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 9: Kayvon Thibodeaux, New York Giants
Week 10: Saquon Barkley, New York Giants
Week 11: Jalen Pitre, Houston Texans
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The National Football League Players Association is the union for professional football players in the National Football League. Established in 1956, the NFLPA has a long history of assuring proper recognition and representation of players’ interests. The NFLPA has shown that it will do whatever is necessary to assure that the rights of players are protected—including ceasing to be a union, if necessary, as it did in 1989. In 1993, the NFLPA again was officially recognized as the union representing the players and negotiated a landmark Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NFL. The current CBA will govern the sport through the 2030 NFL season. Learn more at www.nflpa.com.