Tag: food bank

Saints win appeal for allegedly faking an injury, Dennis Allen donates fine money anyway

The Saints won their appeal for allegedly faking an injury, with head coach Dennis Allen and his wife Alisson donating the money he was fined anyway:

Here’s a great gesture: the New Orleans Saints won their appeal for steep financial penalties after the NFL alleged that defensive end Cameron Jordan faked an injury in their late-season game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year. Among the fines was a $100,000 hit for head coach Dennis Allen — whose wife Allison gave him the idea to donate that money to charity anyway.

Allen shared their story with NewOrleansSaints.com’s John DeShazier: “It all started when we got the fine letters from the league. We said, ‘We shouldn’t be fined for this, we didn’t do anything wrong.’ And then, it got Alisson and I to thinking, ‘Well, we win this appeal, let’s take that money that we would have given the league and let’s do something good with that money.'”

Second Harvest Food Bank is active in 23 parishes across South Louisiana, estimating that they serve 32 million meals each year to more than 210,000 people. The Allens’ donation is going to do a lot to support their efforts.

Allen continued, “And so, Second Harvest Food Bank is an organization that Alisson has taken an interest in. I think there’s like one in five households in Louisiana that deal with lack of funds for foods and vital things in terms of living. And so, we wanted to do something to help out in the community and felt like that was a good place to start.”

Good for them in taking something that was roundly a negative and turning it into a big positive. Jordan’s injury was well-documented — he was limited on the weekly injury report while managing an ankle issue, and the Saints were able to knock down the NFL’s claims with MRI scans and other proof of treatment. It’s a shame that the league cast a shadow on the team like this, but it’s great that the Allens found a silver lining in it.

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Cowboys’ Ezekiel Elliott, over COVID, donates $85K to families in need

The superstar running back made a personal (masked) appearance to deliver the proceeds from a merchandise sale to a Dallas area food bank.

Ezekiel Elliott has turned “Feed Me” into his trademark gimmick, with TV cameras glued to him on gameday, waiting for the pantomime he does after a big run to the delight of Cowboys fans everywhere. But this week, the superstar put his money where others’ mouths are to feed those less fortunate.

The two-time rushing champ has donated $85,000 to the North Texas Food Bank to help 400,000 families in need.

This past spring, Elliott announced a partnership with Dallas-based CentreTX to sell exclusive merchandise, with all proceeds going to the food bank to assist in Covid-19 relief efforts. Tuesday’s donation was the result of that promotion.

Elliott made the donation in person and masked, after his own recovery from a positive coronavirus diagnosis last month. On June 24, Elliott reported that he felt “good” and “normal,” but stated that he planned to “wait another week and just give myself more time to rest up.”

CentreTX joined in with an Instagram post of their own, thanking Elliott.

“We’re proud to be able to give back to the city that’s given us so much,” the post read in part. “A huge thank you to everyone who supported this project with @ezekielelliott and helped us feed many people in the North Texas community — we couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you @northtexasfoodbank for all the good you do and the help you provide our community in a time of such uncertainty.”

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Sean Payton donating plasma, money to combat the coronavirus

Saints coach Sean Payton was infected by the novel coronavirus COVID-19 early during the pandemic and is using his experience to help others

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It’s been more than a month since New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton was cleared of the novel coronavirus COVID-19, and he’s continuing to use that experience and his unique platform to inform and educate others. On Monday, Payton donated plasma at a local hospital to help the fight against the coronavirus.

“Until there’s a vaccine for it, this allows us to do something we think can help,” Payton said during an appearance on FOX 8 New Orleans. “And basically if you’re someone who’s had COVID-19, or if you know you’ve had COVID-19, they’ll ask questions relative to how long you’ve been symptom-free.

“But the idea being that it’s your blood being taken, they’re gonna grab some plasma from it so you’re not gonna lose any blood, that takes about 45 minutes. Hopefully that plasma will help someone who’s been affected in a much more grave way.”

This comes just days after Payton made a $100,000 donation to Second Harvest of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana, a food bank that services thousands of locals. That gesture was part of a telethon in which more than $380,000 was raised to benefit the nonprofit.

It’s terrific to see Payton using his unfortunate circumstances for good, donating his own time, energy, and resources to extend a helping hand to his community. As the struggle against the coronavirus and its effects on the economy linger on, it’ll take more actions like Payton’s to overcome this tough challenge.

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Chiefs announce they’ll match all player contributions to Harvesters food bank

126,000 meals and counting will be donated to Harvesters food bank by the Kansas City Chiefs and their players.

Kansas City Chiefs players have continued their charitable work amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the early stages, Tyreek Hill extended a philanthropic challenge to his teammates by donating meals to a local area food bank. The result was Hill, Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes and Tyrann Mathieu combining to donate a total of 63,000 meals to the Harvesters Community Food Network.

On Sunday evening, the Chiefs franchise took to Twitter to announce that they’ll be making some contributions of their own.

“In response to the challenges many in Chiefs Kingdom face as a result of COVID-19, our current and former players have made contributions to Harvesters and its network of agencies that provide meals to families in need,” the team said in a statement on Twitter, “We are proud of them for all of the work they have done, and continue to do for our community. In support of our players, we’re proud to match all player contributions to Harvesters and its network.”

In the spirit of giving, the team plans to match all player contributions to Harvesters food bank and their network. By my estimates that means the Chiefs will donate 126,000 meals to feed hungry people across Kansas and Missouri. As players continue to get involved and donate, that number will only grow. Together, the players and franchise are determined to help families that have been affected by the coronavirus.

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Russell Wilson, Ciara to donate 1 million meals to Seattle community

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and his wife, Ciara, plan to donate 1 million meals to a local Seattle food bank.

COVID-19 has had a profound impact on the world, with both the number of people infected and the death toll continuing to rise at alarming rates in the United States and around the world.

All sports in the US have come to a screeching halt, save for the NFL who is plowing on with the start of free agency, but with some added restrictions to prevent spreading the disease.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and his wife, R&B superstar Ciara, have stepped up to help out the Seattle community in these trying times, pledging to donate an astonishing one million meals in accordance with Seattle Food Lifeline, a local food bank.

Wilson is no stranger to helping out his community. He has taken time every Tuesday during the regular season over his entire NFL career to visit sick kids at Seattle Children’s Hospital, and his work in raising money to help find a cure for pediatric cancer earned him the Vince Lombardi Excellence Award earlier this offseason.

Now, with the country in crisis, Wilson will use some of his wealth to help support families who are struggling to put food on the table, either due to lost wages or hefty medical bills stemming from COVID-19.

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