EXCLUSIVE: Every Vikings sack means sack lunches for kids in need
WAYZATA, Minn. (KMSP) - The Vikings have emerged with one of the most dominant defenses in the NFL, but that hunger on the field translates to helping fight childhood hunger in the Twin Cities.
Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks partnered with The Sheridan Story to create “Sacks for Kids.” With every quarterback takedown the purple piles up, so do the donations to help send sacks of food to needy children.
“For each sack we get, we get a donation,” Kendricks said. “We got eight sacks [against the Panthers], so that makes it pretty exciting!”
“It’s like fantasy football for donating,” The Sheridan Story executive director Rob Williams said. “You can watch the game and see how many sacks are made and that’s how much you’re able to donate.”
The Sheridan Story is a program that sends less fortunate kids home from school with food to get them through the weekend and to close what the foundation calls “the weekend food gap.”
“We serve almost 5,000 kids a week this school year,” Williams said. “There are more than 200,000 children in Minnesota that live in food insecurity, which means they don’t always know if they will have food for the next meal.”
Kendricks is known for punishing opposing players, but this cause is one that hits him just as hard.
“This year, I really wanted to help people around the city and make a difference,” Kendricks said. “Obviously, our youth are important, especially kids who are less fortunate.”
At 3-0, the Vikings are clearly motivated, but Kendricks hopes the rush on the field can amp up even more now that helping kids is also on the line. So far, the pledges add up to $427 per sack, but more pledges could increase the donation amount throughout the season.
“This is a cool thing we have going on,” Kendricks said. “I don’t know if many of my teammates know about this yet, but I will try to get them involved, so we can get this thing to keep rolling.”
You can donate a pledge to help Eric’s “Sacks for Kids” program at thesheridanstory.com.