FLOWERY BRANCH — Falcons defensive end Calais Campbell, who reached 100 career sacks Sunday in the 24-16 loss to the Commanders, plans to donate $150,000 to teachers in cities where he’s played and went to college.
“It just really came down to doing something along with getting 100 sacks,” Campbell told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday. “Giving away $100,000, which has really turned into $150,000. ... I didn’t want to leave out the places where I grew up. So, Denver and Miami, for college, I want to look out for schools there. It was kind of cool. I just wanted to arm the communities that supported me with some resources.”
Campbell has named the program “100 Sack Give Back.”
In addition to Denver and Miami, donations will be made in through the Kids in Need Foundation in Phoenix, Jacksonville, Baltimore and Atlanta.
“I’ve been drawing this up since last year, hoping that I would get the 100th sack a lot sooner,” Campbell said. “I’ve always felt like giving back was important in the communities that I’ve been in as a player to help me to kind of become who I am and help me accomplish this goals that I’ve had. I wanted to support those communities. I felt like the most important way to do that is with the teachers.”
Campbell, a six-time Pro Bowler, who is in his 17th year in the NFL, is highly respected around the league for his community work. He won the 2019 Walter Payton Man of The Year award for his off-the-field involvement.
“I’m just trying to give back to teachers at a level where they can impact the youth,” Campbell said. “Mainly, it will be up to their discretion how they want to help them teach better. I’m working with an organization that will figure out the teachers who are deserving and then just arming them with ... it’s pretty much 25 teachers in each community with (funds) to work toward building the classroom, to make it better for them to teach the way they need to.”
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