Professional athletes across the country found ways to serve their neighbors and communities this holiday season.
As the U.S. celebrates Thanksgiving amid the COVID-19 pandemic, several professional athletes are doing what they can to make sure their communities don't go hungry this Thursday.
Lions' running back Adrian Peterson teamed up with The Athlete's Corner to donate 100,000 meals to families in need this holiday season in an effort to help fight hunger in Detroit.
Peterson initially planned to donate 1,000 meals for every Lions touchdown and 2,000 meals for each of his own touchdowns in November and December, according to an op-ed Peterson wrote in the Detroit Free Press.
"One in seven people in Michigan report dealing with food insecurity, according to Feeding America, the nation's largest domestic hunger relief organization, and that includes one in seven children," Peterson wrote. "These families are the same ones we worship with, share classrooms with, and root for the Lions with."
Peterson and the Lions will face the Houston Texans on Thanksgiving Day, and the 35-year-old wants fans to "take a second and learn why I’m dedicating my performance this very special Thanksgiving."
The donation will go to Gleaners Community Food Bank, which serves those in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston and Monroe counties in Michigan with the help of Feeding America.
Here's how other athletes are serving their neighbors and communities this holiday season.
- Tennessee Titans cornerback Malcolm Butler helped feed 600 families in need across three cities through grocery gift cards and donations for Thanksgiving. He was named Week 11 NFLPA Community MVP for his charitable efforts. According to a press release from the NFLPA, the Super Bowl champion donated to his team city of Nashville, his hometown of Vicksburg, Mississippi and his college town of Livingston, the University of West Alabama. Butler reportedly "provided free COVID-19 testing and gift cards for 200 underprivileged families on Tuesday" in Nashville. In his hometown, the defensive back "distributed 200 gift cards to three local food pantries." Then the University of West Alabama alum "donated $5,000 to the UWA hunger/pandemic relief fund, which supplied 200 meals for those in need and students unable to go home for Thanksgiving."
- White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson and his wife, Bria, held their third annual Homeplate Turkey Drive through their League of Leaders outreach program on Monday. Volunteers for Tim’s alma mater Hillcrest High School in Tuscaloosa, Ala. dropped 205 pre-ordered turkeys in the trunks of the respective cars with families in need.