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Elliott Donates $50k to Salvation Army

Elliott Donates $50k to Salvation Army
Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliot | Image by Tom Pennington/Getty Images

The Salvation Army kettle behind the end zone at AT&T Stadium has become synonymous with Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliot because of his unique touchdown celebration against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a rookie in 2016.

Elliott was the first to pull the stunt, and teammates have tried to emulate it since.

After the team’s tight ends group did their own version of the celebration with a nod to the classic arcade game Whack-A-Mole, Elliott admitted they did it better than him. That led him to bring back his celebration on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts with a new twist.

After scoring a fourth-quarter touchdown in the Cowboys’ victory, Elliott hopped back in the kettle and enlisted the help of quarterback Dak Prescott. Prescott proceeded to wind an imaginary crank as Elliot popped out of the kettle like a jack-in-the-box.

Now, the NFL star is giving back to the organization.

On Wednesday night, Elliott and his business partner Nick Sunderman announced a $50,000 donation to the Salvation Army of North Texas’s Angel Tree program after touring the facilities. The donation will allow the organization to fill all of its gift requests for children, seniors, and adults with special needs. Prior to the donation, the Angel Tree program was going to be short by 2,000 gifts.

The Salvation Army Angel Tree program is an assistance program that provides gifts to children, seniors and adults with special needs due to the belief that everyone should have a gift to open on Christmas. The program gathers the information of eligible recipients and allows donors to buy the gifts through individualized wish lists.

According to a report from NBC 5 DFW, the North Texas Angel Tree program is the biggest in the United States. The Salvation Army revealed that there has been a 20% increase in the need for gifts through the program.

Elliott and Sunderman also revealed that they will be donating 500 pairs of shoes and socks to the program.

After making the donation, Elliott revealed that he has adopted three angels for this year and that he expects a fine from the NFL for the celebration, but it has not come yet.

“It just means a lot,” Elliott told NBC 5 DFW. “We get so much support from north Texas and I think it’s definitely our duty to do whatever we can to help the people from our community. I’m definitely blessed to be in the situation I am and it’s definitely important to give back and bless other people. It’s worth the awareness we bring to the Salvation Army.”

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1 Comment

  1. Sharon

    Has this made the Dallas Morning News?

    Reply

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