Team

Player

Brief Description of Activity

Arizona Cardinals

Wives of the Arizona Cardinals players

Hosting the annual Can Food Drive to benefit the Westside Food Bank, providing the needy with food boxes for the Thanksgiving Holiday. 

Arizona Cardinals

Wives of the Arizona Cardinals, including Melissa Pittman, Shannon Greisen, Sonia Flores, Ericka Lassiter & Gia Rutledge

Serving Thanksgiving Dinner at the Phoenix Rescue Mission. 

Atlanta Falcons

Team event

Serving meals at Crossroads Ministry located in downtown Atlanta.  Dozens of Falcons players donate their time and money to feed hundreds of fellow Atlantans in need.  This is the 10^th year the Falcons have partnered with Crossroads Ministry.

Atlanta Falcons

Terance Mathis

Conducting his annual “Bird for a Bird” turkey collection.  A native of Atlanta, Mathis collects holiday turkeys from fans, each of whom receive two tickets to a Falcons home game in December and a personal autograph.  All of the turkeys are presented to the Atlanta Community Food Bank for distribution. Last year, Mathis collected over 250 holiday turkeys for families in need.

Atlanta Falcons

Keith Brooking

Participating in “The Dish,” an event where Atlanta area chefs and personalities gather at The Waverly Hotel to prepare turkey dinners for the Atlanta Community Food Bank, who in turn distribute the food to agencies feeding the needy on Thanksgiving Day.

Baltimore Ravens

Sam Adams, Jermaine Lewis, James Trapp & Duane Starks

Providing prepared meals to 100 needy families in the Baltimore area and delivering the food to the families’ doorsteps.

Baltimore Ravens

Ray Lewis

Purchasing and personally distributing 200 complete Thanksgiving dinners to

local families.

Buffalo Bills

Team event

Sorting donated non-perishable food, canned products and packaged food at the Food Bank of WNY. 

Buffalo Bills

Team event

Serving the Community Thanksgiving Lunch at the Buffalo City Mission.

Buffalo Bills

Team event

Delivering Meals on Wheels for the Expressway Assembly of God Church.

Buffalo Bills

Team event

Assisting with the Thanksgiving Party for Kids at the Salvation Army.

Carolina Panthers

Team event

Hosting their fifth annual Tackle Hunger food distribution in Columbia, SC.  More than 2,000 disadvantaged families will be invited to receive three bags of groceries including fruits, vegetables, canned goods and a holiday ham for Thanksgiving.

Carolina Panthers

Team event

Participating in the “Holiday Meals” program.  The players will purchase and deliver complete Thanksgiving meals to 200 families.  This is the sixth season of the holiday meals program, which is coordinated by team chaplain Mike Bunkley.

Chicago Bears

Brian Urlacher

Delivering 300 turkeys to residents at the Ida B. Wells Home in Chicago.

Cincinnati Bengals

Team event

Visiting the Freestore/Foodbank to distribute Thanksgiving dinners.

Cleveland Browns

Team event

Distributing turkeys with the United Black Fund to needy and deserving families in the Fairfax Place and Senior Outreach Services organizations. Players will put on their winter wear to brighten over 400 needy and deserving families’ holiday by handing out turkeys for Thanksgiving.  During the event, players spread cheer to the elderly as they go from room to room sharing conversation and greetings with residents of the Senior Outreach Service Organization.

Cleveland Browns

Team event

Teaming with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation Children’s Hospital for the Thanksgiving Holiday.  To brighten a child’s day during their hospital stay, the Cleveland Browns will greet each child with a “Cleveland Browns Cheering You On” card and other Browns goodies.  During the visit, each child will have the opportunity to take a photograph with a Cleveland Browns player.  The photo will be placed in a keepsake frame and autographed for children to treasure the memory of their Thanksgiving holiday visit.

Cleveland Browns

Team event

Serving a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings to over 300 homeless Clevelanders.  The event will take place at Harbor Light Complex, a Salvation Army program that provides help to those who are poor, struggling or living on the streets.

Cleveland Browns

Team event

Hosting the Coats for Kids and Turkey Toss at Cleveland Browns Stadium to provide warm coats for children.  Each person who donates a new or gently worn coat will receive a turkey for the Thanksgiving Holiday.

Dallas Cowboys

Team event

Celebrating the National Kettle Kick-Off holiday fundraising campaign during the nationally televised halftime show of the Cowboys-Broncos Thanksgiving Day game. This year’s halftime extravaganza will feature multi-platinum recording artist  “Creed” who will perform a medley of songs, featuring the new single, My Sacrifice. The Dallas Cowboys players, cheerleaders, staff and the Gene and Jerry Jones Family Dallas Cowboys Charities are actively involved with The Salvation Army programs and services annually.

Denver Broncos

Team event

Serving Thanksgiving dinner at Denver Rescue Mission, a residential and day facility for Denver’s homeless. The Denver Rescue Mission has joined 200 missions across the nation to show the national reach of faith-based ministries serving the poor and homeless.  The missions will provide more than 175,000 meals to the needy at the second annual “Great Thanksgiving Banquet.”

Denver Broncos

Team event

Participating in the Daddy Bruce Thanksgiving for 2001 by sorting, boxing and delivering a complete, ready to cook meal to the hungry within the Denver metro area. This Thanksgiving outreach provided meals fed over 30,000 Denverites last year alone.

Detroit Lions

Stephen Boyd

Hosting Queens detective Jerry Cunningham of the New York Police Departmentand firefighter Lt. John Esposito of the Fire Department of New York (Ladder 158, Engine 311 in Queens),and their families as special guests for Thanksgiving. Both Cunningham and Esposito were involved in the rescue, relief and clean-up efforts at the World Trade Center.  Boyd and the Lions will fly Cunningham, Esposito, and their families to Detroit for the game.  They will be introduced during pre-game ceremonies and to the crowd following player introductions, later joining the color guard for the national anthem.  They will also be presented with a check from the Lions and Boyd for $139,610, money raised by Boyd and the organization, to be divided between two NYC funds for the widows and children of fallen firefighters: the Uniformed Firefighter's Association and The New York Centurion Foundation.

Detroit Lions

Robert Porcher & Tracy Scroggins

Donating 500 turkeys to those in need in Detroit through Focus: HOPE, a metropolitan Detroit civil and human rights organization that initiates practical solutions to the problems of hunger, economic disparity, inadequate education and racial divisiveness.

Detroit Lions

Allen Aldridge

Serving Thanksgiving dinner at the Cass Community Center soup kitchen. Following the Lions-Packers game at the Silverdome, Aldridge and his family will go to the mission to serve meals and have dinner with the residents and guests of the center. The Cass Community Center serves a traditional Thanksgiving dinner to those in need and area homeless people.

Detroit Lions

Team event

Hosting a halftime spectacular on Thanksgiving at the Pontiac Silverdome saluting United Way and featuring Enrique Iglesias and BeBe Winans and, on video, actor Matthew Broderick.  The show will be themed to impact the audience in the wake of the tragedies of September 11.

Detroit Lions

Terry Fair, Bryant Westbrook, Lions players and staff

Hosting the eleventh annual Detroit Lions Coat Drive, sponsored by Meijer. Fans who attend the annual Thanksgiving Day game are asked to donate clean, new or used warm coats or blankets to be distributed by The Salvation Army and help keep the needy warm this winter.  Lions’ cornerbacks Terry Fair and Bryant Westbrook will serve as this season’s honorary chairmen.

Detroit Lions

Bryant Westbrook

Helping 100 families in need in his hometown of Oceanside, CA. to have a hearty Thanksgiving dinner by supplying $25.00 gift certificates for holiday turkeys.  Students and staff from El Camino High School, Westbrook’s alma mater, will contribute additional items to make up a complete Thanksgiving dinner for those in need.

Detroit Lions

Team event

Hosting youth groups at the Lions Thanksgiving Day game against the Packers. Defensive lineman Luther Elliss will bring 25 underprivileged youth from Pontiac; cornerback Bryant Westbrook will host 25 kids from the Lions’ Detroit Police Athletic League (PAL) youth football program; tight end Bradford Banta will host 15 students from the Detroit Lions Academy; and safety Ron Rice will bring 20 students through The Ron Rice Foundation Achievers Program to the game.

Detroit Lions

The Lions Ladies

Distributing Thanksgiving baskets to the Lighthouse in Pontiac. The baskets are a complete Thanksgiving meal for a family in need.

Detroit Lions

Team event

Distributing food from the Lions/Prince Food From Fans drive sponsored by Prince Pasta, Kroger, the Detroit Lions and FOX 2.  Fans who attended the November 11 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were asked to help the Food Bank of Oakland County and Gleaners Community Food Bank of Greater Detroit by bringing a non-perishable food item to the game to be distributed by the food banks.  Lions safety Ron Rice was the spokesman for the drive.

Green Bay Packers

Darren Sharper

Distributing Thanksgiving meals for the Food Bank of Milwaukee.

Indianapolis Colts

Colts owner Jim Irsay and players

Serving Thanksgiving dinner at a homeless shelter.          

Indianapolis Colts

Team event

Collecting canned food, along with Marsh Supermarkets, to help stock local food pantry shelves. 

Indianapolis Colts

Peyton Manning and Colts players

Kicking off a canned food drive contest on Thanksgiving with Marsh Supermarkets for all schools in the state of Indiana.  Any school that participates is eligible through a random drawing for a visit by Peyton Manning to their school as well as earning tickets to the December 23rd game.

Indianapolis Colts

Colts Offensive Line

Assisting a number of families with special Turkey Day "care" packages.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Team event

Conducting the Jaguars 7th Annual Holiday Food Drive.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Team event

Participating in Jaguars Operation Blessing 2001, a holiday food distribution effort for over 3,000 families residing on the Eastside of Jacksonville.  Campbell's will donate 2,000 cans of Chunky Soup. In addition, eight area agencies that serve the disadvantaged throughout the First Coast region will pick up boxes of frozen turkeys donated by Jaguars players and staff.  Visual acuity and glaucoma screenings will be available for children and adults who are at risk for eye disease.  Blood pressure screenings and Diabetes education and exam information will also be offered.  Volunteers will read to children, who will have a chance to meet Santa Claus.

Kansas City Chiefs

Team event

Donating money on behalf of the late Derrick Thomas for 1,000 turkeys and fixings to be distributed through the All-Stars Community Outreach Center. Thomas’ Third and Long Foundation will once again provide volunteers to help assemble the dinner items for needy families.

Kansas City Chiefs

Tony Gonzalez, Lew Bush & Todd Peterson

Providing a Thanksgiving Dinner to the residents of the Bridge Home for Children through the Tony Gonzalez Foundation, in coordination with both the Lew Bush Foundation and the Todd Peterson Foundation.

Kansas City Chiefs

Wives of Kansas City Chiefs players and coaches

Collecting food items and blankets at the Chiefs-Seahawks game.

Miami Dolphins

Brock Marion

Donating $75.00 for every tackle he makes through Thanksgiving through his “Tackles for Hunger” program, making a minimum donation of $5,000.  In addition, Publix Supermarkets is donating a can of cranberry sauce with every turkey he donates. 

Miami Dolphins

Team event

Hosting a canned food drive in conjunction with the Daily Bread Food Bank, an organization that provides food to the needy throughout South Florida. 

Miami Dolphins

Team event

Distributing a portion of 5,000 turkeys donated to underprivileged families at three agencies affiliated with the Daily Bread Food Bank.  Dolphins players, staff and the organization are donating the turkeys once again this season. 

Minnesota Vikings

Cris Carter and several of his teammates

Distributing turkeys and meeting the residents at Sharing and Caring Hands in Minneapolis.

Minnesota Vikings

Dennis and Marie Green, Byron Chamberlain, Chris Liwienski, Lemanski Hall, Wasswa Serwanga, Everett Lindsay, Jim Nelson, Cory Withrow, Brad Badger, Eric Kelly, Mike Malano and Brody Heffner-Liddiard. 

Participating in their annual Taste of the NFL event to raise money for Second Harvest Heartland Food Bank.  

Minnesota Vikings

Robert Griffith

Visiting the Lyndale School in Minneapolis to speak about the Thanksgiving Holiday and also commend the students for their strong attendance record so far during this school year.

New England Patriots

Robert and Myra Kraft and Patriots players and their wives

Visiting Morgan Memorial to assemble food baskets.  Players and their wives, along with Patriots owner Robert Kraft and his wife, Myra, will distribute the baskets.

New England Patriots

Patriots cheerleaders

Visiting Morgan Memorial Goodwill on Thanksgiving day to serve Thanksgiving dinners.

New England Patriots

Patriots players

Donating money to purchase Thanksgiving food baskets to Morgan Memorial Goodwill in Boston to feed approximately 100 families.

New Orleans Saints

Team event

Collecting money from players, coaches, and staff members to donate to a particular community in New Orleans. 

New Orleans Saints

Saints players, their children, and their wives

Visiting the Dryades YMCA to hand out food baskets containing a turkey, corn, yams and bread to more than 1000 families. 

New York Giants

Jason Sehorn

Conducting his Annual Turkey Trot and providing Thanksgiving dinner baskets for 50 families in the Elizabeth, NJ community.

New York Giants

Kerry Collins

Purchasing and distributing Thanksgiving dinner to families in Lyndhurst, NJ.

New York Giants

Team event

Collecting 8000 lbs. of food at the Giants Food Drive.  Food will be delivered to City Harvest in New York City and Second Harvest in Hillside, NJ.

New York Giants

Team event

Donating turkeys to Center for Food Action in Englewood, NJ.

New York Giants

Giants players in conjunction with the Jets and NFL

Distributing Thanksgiving baskets and hats to local communities.

New York Jets

Team event

Conducting a pre-game food drive at the Meadowlands to benefit the Interfaith Nutrition Network, which operates several soup kitchens and homeless shelters on Long Island.

New York Jets

The Jets Women’s Organization

Visiting the Mary Brennan Inn in Hempstead, one of the numerous soup kitchens the Interfaith Nutrition Network operates throughout Long Island.  A dozen women from the organization will decorate The Inn with festive Thanksgiving and Fall decorations and then serve about 250 guests for lunch.  The women have collected needed items from The Inn’s wish list of to present to those they serve when they visit.      

New York Jets

Team event

Visiting Rescue 1 in midtown Manhattan to spend time with firefighters and family members of those lost in the WTC tragedy on 9-11.  Players will make holiday gift baskets for the families and distribute other giveaways.

New York Jets

John Hall

Assisting the Salvation Army with their Holiday Kettle Campaign Kickoff at Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City, Long Island.

New York Jets

Aaron Glenn

Donating 500 turkeys to two agencies serving needy families on Long Island. 

New York Jets

Chris Hayes

Distributing 100 turkeys complete with all the trimmings to members of the Hempstead community.

New York Jets

Team event

Providing 100 turkeys, 100 chickens and 100 hot meals with potatoes and cream of turkey soup for 300 of those served by St. John’s Food Pantry.  Church volunteers will hand out the additional chickens and hot meals the day before Thanksgiving. 

Oakland Raiders

Lincoln Kennedy, Mo

Collins & Raider CEO Amy Trask

Serving Thanksgiving breakfast at the McDonald's Annual Thanksgiving Breakfast in Oakland.

Oakland Raiders

Anthony Dorsett & Charles Woodson

Serving Thanksgiving dinner to inner-city youth in Oakland.

Philadelphia Eagles

David Akers

Attending a kickoff luncheon for his Kicks for Kids charity.  Immediately following the luncheon, Akers will go into local communities to donate Thanksgiving meals to several families.

Philadelphia Eagles

Brian Mitchell & Duce Staley

Hosting a food drive to collect canned goods for local food banks.  Mitchell will also donate Thanksgiving meals to families in the Philadelphia, Washington, and Louisiana areas.

Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles players

Visiting a local homeless shelter to help feed the residents.  They will also donate money collected from fans at the Vikings-Eagles game.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Jerome Bettis

Hosting his "Turkey for All" program, providing homeless and underprivileged families throughout Pittsburgh with turkey dinners on Thanksgiving.  Jerome and several teammates use Bettis' bus to deliver food for the needy.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Jason Gildon and several teammates

Hosting Thanksgiving dinner for Light of Life Ministries' Family Assistance Program. 

St. Louis Rams

Team event

Joining with the Urban League and Schnuck Markets, the team will help to feed nearly 1000 families.  Torry Holt will be chairing the offensive side and Tyoka Jackson will chair the defensive side to collect monetary donations from players in order to purchase food for these families.  The Rams front office will match the player contributions.  Rams players will assist with the distribution of the dinners on Nov. 20 at the Urban League.

St. Louis Rams

Rams Offensive line

Hosting the “Linemen In Motion” holiday dinner to provide women and children from local shelters with a hot meal served up by the players.  The players donate money to purchase food as well as their time by serving the meals to their guests. 

San Diego Chargers

Marcellus Wiley and teammates

Sponsoring a turkey give-away to over 450 families of Kennedy Elementary School through the Marcellus Wiley Foundation.

San Francisco 49ers

Team event

Visiting a Children's Hospital in Palo Alto, California. 

Seattle Seahawks

Seahawks players, Sea Gals and staff members

Serving lunch to the students at the Seahawks Academy in Seattle.

Seattle Seahawks

Shaun Alexander

Speaking to 1,000 students at the annual Communities in Schools "First and Goal" luncheon at the Stadium Exhibition Center in Seattle.  Shaun will be joined by some of his teammates, 4 Sea Gals and Blitz, the team mascot.

Seattle Seahawks

Koren Robinson, Tim Terry, Reggie Tongue, 2 Sea Gals and Blitz (mascot)

Attending a Thanksgiving Luncheon at Sea Mar Youth Treatment Center in Kent.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Shaun King

Providing 100 meals to families in need at the Fair Oaks Park Community Center.  The meals include a Thanksgiving turkey, corn, green beans, potatoes, stuffing, dinner rolls, apple juice and desert.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Derrick Brooks, Dexter Jackson, & Shelton Quarles

Distributing Thanksgiving dinners to families whose children attend the Ponce de Leon and Ybor City Boys & Girls Clubs.  They will give away 100 meals that include a Thanksgiving turkey, green beans, corn, potatoes, dinner rolls and desert

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Warrick Dunn

Kicking off his 2001 “Homes for the Holidays” initiative in his hometown of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  Dunn makes down payments on new houses then fills each home with necessities such as furniture for every room, washers and dryers, linens, lawn and gardening equipment, lamps and kitchen appliances.  Additionally, Dunn stocks each kitchen with food, including a turkey and all the trimmings for a Thanksgiving dinner.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Randall McDaniel  & other Buccaneers players

Packaging and distributing food baskets at the Metropolitan Ministries holiday food tent.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Milton Wynn & other Buccaneers players

Distributing 50 Thanksgiving dinner baskets to the residents of the Tampa Park Apartments.

Washington Redskins

Eddie Mason & other Redskin players

Hosting, along with his wife Sonya, the 2^nd Annual Faith Harvest Outreach Thanksgiving Dinner for homeless children and families at St. Joseph’s Church and School in Herndon, VA.  The Faith Foundation will distribute 100 Faith Harvest Outreach Thanksgiving baskets, which include a complete Thanksgiving dinner with all of the fixings to families in need this holiday season.  Several Redskin players and their wives will assemble the Thanksgiving baskets at Redskin Park.  After the baskets are assembled they will be distributed that afternoon to local families.