In an incredible act of kindness, Buffalo Bills fans are helping Louisville’s youth in honor of Lamar Jackson.
I am at an absolute loss for words for the kindness shown toward Lamar Jackson by Buffalo Bills fans on Sunday.
After Jackson was knocked out of the game early in the fourth quarter with an apparent concussion, the Bills went on to win 17-3.
However, the fan base commonly known as “Bills mafia”, a group of New Yorkers who get rowdy and smash tables, has a softer side as well. Apparently, it has become a tradition of sorts for Bills fans to find ways to show compassion and give back; both for causes supported by their own players and players on opposing teams.
Afterward, a group of fans on a reddit thread decided to find a way to give back in Jackson’s honor. That is when user Heisenbergwhite917 came across Jackson’s favorite charity.
How fans are giving back
Back in 2018, Jackson donated $25,000 to the Louisville chapter of non-profit Blessings in a Backpack.
Blessings in a Backpack, an organization founded to help feed children when they go home on the weekends, has a unique mission statement:
“Every school-aged child in America has the nourishment needed to learn and grow,” states the Blessings in a Backpack site, which runs almost completely using volunteers. “As a leader in the movement to end childhood hunger, Blessings in a Backpack strives to ensure children do not go hungry on the weekends by empowering individuals and communities to take action.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, 1 in 4 American children is experiencing food insecurity. Food insecurity is defined as the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. In Louisville, Kentucky, these numbers may be even higher in 2021. Prior to the pandemic, Louisville was considered to have a food insecurity rate of 17 percent. Nationwide, those numbers have been inflated in the wake of job loss and school closures.
According to Tyler Greever of Louisville’s WHAS, Blessings in a Backpack has received over 1,800 donations since midnight on Sunday.
Typically, the standard donation from Buffalo fans sharing their gift is $17 in honor of quarterback Josh Allen’s jersey number. Many fans were donating $17 for Allen and $.08 for Jackson’s jersey number.
Let’s just assume that fans have donated the baseline amount of $17. That would mean Blessings in a Backpack Louisville has received well over $30,000 in donations in less than 12 hours.
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How the donations will help
According to the Blessings in a Backpack website, $130 will feed one child on the weekends for one school year. So, conservatively, 235 Louisville children will be fed this year thanks mostly in part to thousands of generous Buffalonians.
However, the numbers are likely higher than that. Reddit users lalalady, Obamaisyourgod, masterlumberjack, olesLS, and others report donating $50. Many others outside the feed, including Ravens fans on a subreddit have given donations as well.
If you are interested in donating, you can visit the Louisville chapter of Blessings in a Backpack here.
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