NFLPA Player Members Making a Difference For Thanksgiving

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Before spending time with their loved ones and taking the field for the Thanksgiving holiday, members of the NFL Players Association made sure to give back to their local communities. The below list is just a sample of the many unique ways that current NFL players spread the holiday spirit by pouring back into their hometowns and team cities. 

The NFL Players Association would also like recognize and thank our charitable partners (FORCE BLUE, GOODProjects, Laureus Sport for Good, Men’s Health Network, The Conscious Kid and The Elephant in the Room) for the work they do to positively impact people across the country. 

Johnathan Abram (New Orleans Saints)
He and his Johnathan’s Journey For Better Foundation pre-selected 12 New Orleans residents and surprised them with turkeys and sides for the Thanksgiving holiday. 
 

McTelvin Agim (Indianapolis Colts)
Partnered with The Salvation Army to hand out 500 turkeys and hams in Texarkana, Texas. Agim has a special connection to The Salvation Army because he was housed there as a child.
 

Will Anderson Jr. (Houston Texans)
The varsity football team at Royal High School got quite the surprise from Anderson and his teammates Jerry Hughes and Ali Gaye when they were treated to a Thanksgiving meal and grocery gift cards for each player to shop for holiday items.

Arik Armstead (San Francisco 49ers)
Spreading the holiday cheer, the Week 5 NFLPA Community MVP provided turkeys and food baskets to more than 500 students and their families from Sacramento County Office of Education.

Terron Armstead (Miami Dolphins)
Hosted 40 underprivileged youth from the Boys & Girls Club of Broward County for a Thanksgiving Giving Spree that saw each kid receive a $200 gift card, dinner and a T-shirt while doing some holiday shopping alongside Armstead and 10 of his Dolphins teammates.

Nelson Agholor, Odell Beckham Jr., Jadeveon Clowney, Kyle Hamilton, Justice Hill, Josh Johnson, Tyler Linderbaum, Justin Madubuike, Morgan Moses, Odafe Oweh, Michael Pierce, Patrick Queen, Patrick Ricard, Roquan Smith, Ronnie Stanley, Brent Urban, Broderick Washington, Daryl Worley and Kevin Zeitler (Baltimore Ravens) 
19 Ravens players came together to purchase 1,200 turkeys and bags of sides for Baltimore residents at seven different distribution sites around Baltimore. They were joined by 20 Ravens players who helped hand them out, including Tykeem Doss, Gus Edwards, Zay Flowers, Malik Hamm, Malik Harrison, Charlie Kolar, Isaiah Likely, Jeremy Lucien, Patrick Mekari, Keaton Mitchell, Michael Pierce, Josh Ross, Jordan Stout, Tavius Robinson,  Ar’Darius Washington, Damarion Williams, Marcus Williams, Owen Wright, Andrew Vohees and Travis Vokolek. 

Brian Asamoah and Alexander Mattison (Minnesota Vikings) 
Volunteered with Open Arms of Minnesota by cooking and delivering medically tailored meals to critically ill community members.  

Saquon Barkley (New York Giants) 
For his 4th annual Thanksgiving Turkey Drive, the Week 10 NFLPA Community MVP handed out 300 turkeys along with Thanksgiving pantry items at the Bronx borough at Bronx River Community Center.

Shaq Barrett (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
Hosted a Thanksgiving banquet with ReBuilt Meals for 150 kids at the Boys & Girls Club of Tampa Wilbert Davis Belmont Heights Club. 

DaRon Bland (Dallas Cowboys)
The record-setting defensive back and his Bland Beyond Boundaries foundation teamed up with Strikes for Kids to put on a bowling event, which featured unlimited arcade games and pizza as well as surprise toys for 100 kids from the Boys & Girls Club of Collin County in Texas.

Bradley Bozeman (Carolina Panthers)
More than 1,200 kids were treated to a night out at Top Golf in Charlotte and walked away with a full Thanksgiving meal for the holiday, thanks in part to Bozeman.

Camryn Bynum (Minnesota Vikings)
Alongside his family, Bynum served Thanksgiving meals and sides to more than 200 families in need from the Burnsville-Eagan- Savage School District 191. 

Jason Cabinda (Detroit Lions)
Hosted a private event for more than 100 Detroit fifth and sixth graders alongside Athletes For Charity at a local Dave & Buster’s. The students were nominated by their teachers to attend based on academic excellence, attendance and good citizenship/behavior.

De’Vondre Campbell (Green Bay Packers)  
After donating 5,000 units of Campbell’s Soup to Paul’s Pantry in Green Bay, he also distributed more than 200 meals at the local Boys & Girls Club. 

Michael Carter II (New York Jets) and Isaiah Hodgins (New York Giants) 
Volunteered at the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, where they packed 340 pounds of food, boxed 34 meal kits and packed 70 pounds of reusable bags.

Kenny Clark (Green Bay Packers) 
Hosted a Thanksgiving giveaway in Riverside, CA that provided 250 families with a full Thanksgiving dinner. He also volunteered at a local food bank in Green Bay where he assembled food packages for families in need. 

Blake Cashman (Houston Texans)
Held a fundraiser and signed jersey giveaway benefiting the Houston Food Bank, with the proceeds going toward filling boxes of food for the holidays.

DJ Chark (Carolina Panthers)
With the help of the Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina, Chark passed out Thanksgiving food boxes at the Marie G. Davis School in Charlotte.

Jeremy Chinn (Carolina Panthers)
Families and residents of the Charlotte Family Housing shelter were treated to a Thanksgiving feast by Chinn.

Bradley Chubb (Miami Dolphins)
Partnered with Feeding South Florida to host a Thanksgiving food giveaway where turkeys and other Thanksgiving food items were provided to families in need. He also made a donation to provide an additional 6,000 meals. 

Nico Collins (Houston Texans)
Collins volunteered at Almeda Plaza Missionary Baptist Church’s community pantry with the Houston Food Bank and handed out turkeys to 100 people.

Dion Dawkins (Buffalo Bills)
More than 2,000 people in the East Buffalo community were served with hot meals for Thanksgiving, thanks in part to Mrs. Triggs, a light in the Buffalo community, and to Dawkins and his Dion’s Dreamers foundation, which helped distribute the food with the help of the students from School 131.

Gus Edwards (Baltimore Ravens) 
Hosted a Thanksgiving dinner at Scotts Branch Elementary School for 75 students and their families. He was joined by teammate Justice Hill and the Gus the Bus Foundation to bring families together through hot food.

Mike Evans (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
The Mike Evans Family Foundation fed more than 300 people from Evans’s hometown community at his 2nd Annual Thanksgiving Luncheon in Galveston, TX. 

Blake Ferguson (Miami Dolphins)
For the third straight year, he partnered with United Way of Broward County’s Mission UNITED program to distribute Thanksgiving meals to veterans and the military community. 

Zaire Franklin (Indianapolis Colts) 
Hosted a Thanksgiving party for more than 100 kids at the Boys and Girls Club of Indianapolis, providing them each with a Thanksgiving meal and entertainment. 

Myles Garrett (Cleveland Browns)
Spent his off day visiting patients in the Rainbow Babies Unit at University Hospitals, where he played games, did Thanksgiving arts & crafts and took photos with the kids. 

 JT Gray and Elgton Jenkins (New Orleans Saints)
The duo hosted a Thanksgiving food drive in their hometown of Clarksdale, MS, where they were able to give out more than 300 boxes of holiday food essentials to residents of their community.
 

Lawrence Guy Sr. (New England Patriots)
More than 230 families were served at Hyde Park’s Chittick Elementary School with Thanksgiving turkeys and sides, to-go meals and hot lunches. The Lawrence Guy Family Foundation adopted the school last month and has since focused its efforts on ensuring all students, families and staff do not go without meals and gifts this holiday season.

Justin Hardee (New York Jets) 
The Week 3 NFLPA Community MVP partnered with Personal Touch Experience and the Boys and Girls Club of Newark for their Harvest Festival Feast. With the help of his teammates D.J. Reed and Brandin Echols, they fed more than 200 members of the Newark Clubhouse. 

Cam Heyward (Pittsburgh Steelers)
Heyward, with the help of his teammates, held his annual Thanksgiving Distribution at the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank where they provided community members with holiday meals.

Alex Highsmith (Pittsburgh Steelers) 
Volunteered at the Northside Food Pantry in Pittsburgh and passed out gift cards for families to finish their shopping lists.

Tyreek Hill (Miami Dolphins)
The Tyreek Hill Family Foundation helped impact several families from his hometown in Georgia by giving away turkeys for the holiday. 

Isaiah Hodgins (New York Giants)
Distributed more than 100 free turkeys to the residents of Hackensack, NJ through the Recreation Department as they prepared for the Thanksgiving holiday.  

Houston Texans Defensive Line
Led by Maliek Collins, Jonathan Greenard, Khalil Davis and Kurt Hinish, the Texans defensive line surprised shoppers at a local grocery store with money to shop for Thanksgiving dinner.

Houston Texans Offensive line 
Led by Tytus Howard, the Texans offensive line hosted a Thanksgiving meal pick-up for families in need this holiday season. The players, who donated all sides and dessert, distributed the 300 meals at NRG Stadium.

Kareem Jackson (Denver Broncos)
For the third year in a row, he handed out Thanksgiving holiday boxes full of turkeys and sides to 200 families from the Aurora Community Connection.

Jerry Jacobs (Detroit Lions)
Partnered with the Black United Fund of Michigan (B.U.F.) to give away 20 $100 gift cards to families in need. Jacobs worked with B.U.F. to source families in underserved communities to ensure they have meals and resources throughout the holiday season

Derwin James (Los Angeles Chargers)
Teamed up with Boys and Girls Club of Orange County to host his annual Thanksgiving Dinner for 100 local families in need.

Malik Jefferson (Dallas Cowboys)
Joined volunteers and Crossroads Community Services for his second annual Turkey Giveaway that distributed Thanksgiving food and baskets to 500 families across his team city of Dallas and hometown of Mesquite.

Quentin Johnston (Los Angeles Chargers) 
Volunteered at the Los Angeles Food Bank to assemble food packages for families in need. 

Aaron Jones (Green Bay Packers)  
Double the brothers, double the turkey drives for Aaron and his brother Alvin Jr. as they hosted their annual Thanksgiving turkey drives in El Paso, Texas and in Green Bay. More than 225 turkeys were handed out at Hawkins Elementary School in El Paso while 75 turkeys and 75 hams were donated to Paul’s Pantry in Green Bay to help spread holiday cheer for 150 families. 

Ernest Jones (Los Angeles Rams)
Passed out a Thanksgiving meal featuring a turkey and five sides as well as a custom tote bag to 200 families in need.

Jonathan Jones (New England Patriots)
Hosted his second annual Turkey Flag Football Bowl for the Bluehills Boys and Girls Club in Dorchester, MA. Afterwards, he provided the 300+ families in attendance with a Thanksgiving. 

Cam Jordan (New Orleans Saints) 
Sponsored a Turkey Giveaway in New Orleans where he distributed 503 turkeys to families. 

Charles Leno Jr. and Daron Payne (Washington Commanders)
Joined forces with NFLPA charitable partner GOODProjects to provide 500 families in the Southwest Public Housing Community with fresh turkeys and cooking sets ahead of Thanksgiving. 

Shaquille Leonard
Handed out more than 400 turkeys and Thanksgiving sides to deserving families in Lake View, SC, and Indianapolis.

David Long Jr. (Miami Dolphins) 
Kept up an annual tradition by hosting his Turkey Drive in his hometown of Cincinnati, where he provided 150 turkeys along with pizza and games to create a fun, family community day for those in need. 

Jesse Luketa (Arizona Cardinals)
Partnered with a local deli in Arizona to give out more than 75 meals to at-risk youth.

Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs)
Awarded $615,000 in grants to 19 different charitable organizations at the fourth annual 15 and The Mahomies Foundation Gala.

Tyrann Mathieu (New Orleans Saints)
Alongside The Salvation Army of Greater New Orleans, he and his foundation provided Thanksgiving turkeys and traditional fixings, including stuffing, potatoes, fruits and vegetables, to more than 300 families in need.

Trey McBride (Arizona Cardinals) 
Helped serve meals at the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Scottsdale for its Teen Thanksgiving Dinner.

Cameron McGrone (Indianapolis Colts) 
With a pledge to give back to the underserved community, he hosted his inaugural turkey drive at his alma mater, Lawrence Central High School in Indianapolis. Alongside his family, they were able to gift 200 families with a turkey while hosting a winter clothing drive to donate to local non-profits. 

Isaiah McKinney (New York Giants)
Recruited some of his teammates to help pass out turkeys and Thanksgiving meals to local families in partnership with the American Eagle Food Pantry of North New Jersey. His efforts enabled 200 families to enjoy a full spread for the upcoming holiday.

Terry McLaurin (Washington Commanders)
60 DC-area households were treated to the Terry McLaurin Foundation 2nd Annual Giving Thanks For Foster Families event, where they received meals for the Thanksgiving holiday. For the kids who attended, they were gifted with books, toys and gloves.

Rodney McLeod (Cleveland Browns) 
Through his Change Our Future Foundation, McLeod provided turkeys and all the sides across three different cities to 200 families in Cleveland, 200 families in Philadelphia and 100 families in Capital Heights, MD.

Kenny Moore (Indianapolis Colts) 
Held a Thanksgiving distribution for families in a partnership between his Love One Foundation and the Black Firefighters Association.  

Ty Montgomery (New England Patriots)
More than 50 of Boston’s foster youth were given a full basket of non-perishable items, including corn, mangoes, cereal, pita chips, noodles, and paper towels. The kids also got to spend time with Montgomery, take pictures and toss around the football.

Larry Ogunjobi (Pittsburgh Steelers)
Hosted his second annual Thanksgiving dinner at the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh. He also provided each family with a grocery gift card to help them shop for their holiday meal.

Jonathan Owens (Green Bay Packers)  
Hosted his second annual Turkey Giveaway at the Boys and Girls Club of Green Bay, where he greeted fans and distributed turkeys to kids and families in need.  

Patrick Peterson (Pittsburgh Steelers)
Peterson, alongside some of his teammates, passed out turkeys and sides for 200 families in need at his annual Thanksgiving Food Distribution.

Jalen Pitre (Houston Texans)
A few days after being selected as the Week 11 NFLPA Community MVP for distributing 300 turkeys for Thanksgiving, Pitre arrived to NRG Stadium in a Kids Meals delivery truck to raise awareness for his Feed 5 More campaign in the fight against food insecurity

Harrison Phillips (Minnesota Vikings)
Phillips had his Playmakers assist him by handing out Thanksgiving turkeys and $25 grocery gift cards to the 200+ local veterans at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center. After the distribution, he rented out a movie theater for an exclusive screening of the new animated film “Leo” with more than 60 special-needs kids and their family members.

Brandon Powell (Minnesota Vikings)
Hosted a Thanksgiving meal at a local Boys and Girls Club, where he helped serve food and then provided additional families in need with turkeys for their own holiday dinner.

Justin Reid (Kansas City Chiefs) 
Hosted his annual Justin's Thanksgiving Grocery Grab, where he took 30 families grocery shopping for their holiday meals.

Cam Sample (Cincinnati Bengals) 
Partnered with the Freestore Foodbank by providing a monetary donation to help supplement Thanksgiving meals to families in-need. He also provided grocery gift cards to students of the Cincinnati COOKS workforce development program, which provides training to low-income individuals to help them obtain jobs in the culinary industry.  

Kevon Seymour (Baltimore Ravens)
Provided meals and drinks from a local sandwich shop for the Community Arms apartment residents in Pasadena, CA. 
 

Jeffery Simmons (Tennessee Titans)
The Week 12 NFLPA Community MVP winner and his Give Em A Reason Foundation held a drive-thru turkey distribution at Nissan Stadium, where they handed out 500 turkeys to the Nashville community.

Roquan Smith (Baltimore Ravens) 
Joined by fellow Raven Jordan Stout, Smith hosted a Thanksgiving dinner at Belmont Elementary School in Baltimore for 100 families and helped distribute turkeys to those in attendance. Earlier in the week, the Roquan Smith Foundation hosted a Thanksgiving distribution event in his hometown of Montezuma, GA, where 600 turkeys and boxes of sides were handed out to local residents. 

Trey Smith (Kansas City Chiefs)
Hosted a turkey giveaway for 300 Kansas City families at the Giving Hope Food Pantry. Following the three-hour event, Smith stayed another hour to take photos and sign autographs.

C.J. Stroud (Houston Texans)
The Texans QB provided 100 single moms and their children with $100 gift cards, vouchers for a Thanksgiving turkey and hoodies at a local grocery store.

Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
Along with teammates Chase Claypool and River Cracraft, he visited Gwen Cherry Park Boys & Girls Club to distribute 150 Thanksgiving turkeys and grocery gift cards to deserving families.
 
Tampa Bay Buccaneers O-Line
Matt Feiler, Luke Goedeke, Robert Hainsey, Cody Mauch, Nick Leverett, Aaron Stinnie, Justin Skule, Brandon Walton and Tristan Wirfs took part in the 17th Annual "Turkey Time With the O-Line" event, where they distributed more than 1,000 full Thanksgiving meals and raised more than $43,000.

Kayvon Thibodeaux (New York Giants)
The Week 9 NFLPA Community MVP distributed more than 250 turkeys to families in Brooklyn in hopes of alleviating some of the stressors that come with providing a special holiday meal. He also held an additional Turkey Drive in Los Angeles that served more than 200 families.

Andrew Thomas (New York Giants) 
Partnered with the Atlanta Community Food Bank and the Mayor of Lithonia at the fifth annual Andrew Thomas Turkey Drive in his hometown of Lithonia, GA. More than 200 families received a turkey and food pantry box.

Solomon Thomas (New York Jets)
Alongside his teammates, Thomas hosted a thanksgiving dinner for 150 at-risk youth and their families in Jersey City and donated $5,000 to cover the costs of meals. He also donated $5,000 to Interfaith Food Pantry Network, which helped to purchase turkeys and fixings for a food distribution event. 

Laremy Tunsil (Houston Texans)
Tunsil, who was joined by quarterback C.J. Stroud, hosted a Thanksgiving food and grocery distribution event at the Houston Texans YMCA.

Shy Tuttle (Carolina Panthers)
On Wednesday, November 15, Tuttle partnered with Second Harvest Food Bank of the Metrolina to host a turkey drive for families in need.

Travon Walker (Jacksonville Jaguars) 
Hosted a turkey drive, donating more than 200 Thanksgiving meals to local families in Jacksonville. Jaguars players K'Lavon Chaisson, Roy Robertson-Harris, Folorunso Fatukasi and Esezi Otomewo were also on site to help distribute meals.

Levi Wallace (Pittsburgh Steelers)
Held a Thanksgiving dinner distribution for veterans who are served by Veterans Place Pittsburgh and presented a donation of $25,000 from Amazon as part of its #TNFforGood initiative.

Charvarius Ward (San Francisco 49ers)
For the third straight year, he organized the Charvarius Ward Turkey Giveaway in his hometown of McComb, MS. In collaboration with the Mississippi Food Network and the Boys & Girls Club of McComb, his Change With Charvarius Foundation contributed more than $11,000 to cover the costs of 350 turkeys and 350 fresh produce boxes for more than 400 local families.

Jon Weeks (Houston Texans)
Patients and their families at Texas Children’s Hospital were treated to a Thanksgiving lunch by Weeks, who was also joined by teammates Cameron Johnston and Matt Ammendola.

Zamir White (Las Vega Raiders)
More than 500 families attended the Zamir White Thanksgiving Turkey Drive in his hometown of Laurinburg, NC, where each family received a turkey and food pantry box.

Jameson Williams (Detroit Lions)
Immediately following the Lions’ Week 11 victory over the Bears, Williams went straight from the stadium to Family Assistance for Renaissance Men (F.A.R.M.) to distribute turkeys to 25 families