Calais Campbell supports teachers with 100-Sack Give Back program, earns NFLPA Week 7 Community MVP honors

On Sunday, we saw Calais Campbell record his first sack in a Falcons uniform — which was also his 100th career sack. To celebrate this milestone, Campbell is commemorating this incredible accomplishment with a $100,000 donation to support teachers in under-resourced schools through the Kids In Need Foundation.

Campbell’s generosity earned him the NFLPA’s Week 7 Community MVP award.

Through the 100-Sack Give Back, Campbell is providing 100 teachers in the cities where he’s spent his NFL career — Phoenix, Jacksonville, Baltimore, and Atlanta — with $500 of necessary school supplies and a $500 grant for each teacher to purchase other resources for their classrooms. Twenty-five teachers from each city will be selected through the Kids In Need Foundation.

Campbell isn’t stopping there; he’s also donating $10,000 to support Denver and South Miami teachers, supporting educators in the cities where he played high school and college ball at Denver South High School and the University of Miami.

“I’ve always been someone that [believes] success is best shared with the people you love,” Campbell said. “Football is an amazing job because it brings communities together. That’s why I want to share this milestone with the special communities that cheered for me and supported me throughout my career. I want to share this moment with them because teachers are the most important part of any community.”

Campbell, who’s earned first-team (2017) and second-team (2014 and 2016) All-Pro nods and is a six-time Pro Bowler, has also been a star off the field throughout his career. Campbell was named the 2019 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year, and was nominated for Man of the Year two other times (2011 and 2014, during his time with the Arizona Cardinals). In 2018, he received the prestigious Bart Starr Award for exemplifying outstanding character and leadership in the home, field, and community.

“Calais has consistently shown his commitment as a champion for education. While many individuals would celebrate such a notable accomplishment with a gift to themself, he’s choosing to invest in our teachers and students in under-resourced schools,” said Corey Gordon, CEO of Kids In Need Foundation. “We congratulate Calais for achieving such an incredible milestone and our gratitude for supporting teachers and students across the country, especially at this critical time in the school year.”

The Kids In Need Foundation’s annual teacher survey, which included over 11,371 respondents in 33 states, revealed that 58 percent of students arrived without the necessary supplies on their first day of school.

My parents are both retired public-school educators. In their combined century-plus of experience in public education, they spent countless dollars out of their own pockets on everything from tissues and cleaning supplies for their classrooms, to books, and backup pencils, paper, and other supplies for their students who didn’t have them, and even non-perishable food items for the kids who were experiencing food insecurity at home.

Kids can’t learn if they don’t have the resources they need, and teachers can’t teach if they don’t have the resources they need. For these 100 classrooms, Campbell’s generosity will help solve that problem.

What a way to celebrate.