OWINGS MILLS, Md. Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson on Monday thanked Buffalo Bills fan base, whose donations totaled $ 360,000 to one of his favorite charities.
“Appreciate that bill mafia,” Jackson posted on Twitter. “It means a lot not only to me, but also to the children.”
The outpouring of support for the “Blessings in a Backpack” chapter in Louisville began Saturday night after the Bills’ 17-3 victory over the visiting Ravens in their AFC division playoff game, which ruled out the reigning NFL MVP late in the third quarter with concussion.
As of Monday, there were 13,600 individual donations from Bills fans, affectionately known as ‘Bills Mafia’.
“It was just overwhelming – in the best possible way,” said Nikki Grizzle of “Blessings in a Backpack.”
Jackson, a Heisman Trophy winner at the University of Louisville, raised $ 25,000 for the charity in 2018 by signing signatures. In less than a day after Buffalo’s playoff game over Baltimore, Bills fans raised the amount more than ten times.
The mission of the organization is to mobilize communities, individuals, and resources to provide food on the weekends for elementary school children across America who might otherwise go hungry. According to its website, the program can feed one child during the weekend for a 38-week school year for $ 130.
This is the latest charity gesture by fans of Bills. At the end of the regular season in 2017, when quarterback Andy Dalton led the Cincinnati Bengals to a victory that helped the Bills qualify for the playoffs, they did something similar for Dalton.
Billers also donated large quantities to John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital earlier this season after it was announced that Buffalo’s grandmother, Josh Allen, had passed away. Donations for it have embezzled $ 1 million.
ESPN’s Mike Reiss contributed to this article.