The Chargers have joined the list of NFL franchises that have answered the call to help the Houston area amid the devastation of Hurricane Harvey.
Chargers Chairman Dean Spanos says the Bolts will donate $500,000 towards relief efforts and announced the team is organizing a food and supply drive in Los Angeles.
“Watching the images coming out of Houston this week has been heartbreaking,” said Spanos. “Having lived through the devastation of the wildfires in San Diego County, we felt it was important to do something – in addition to a monetary donation – that would provide tangible help in real time to assist those who now suddenly find themselves without a home. We know first-hand this will be a long process of recovery, and every amount of support will help.”
The Spanos family donated $1 million in the wake of both the 2003 and 2007 wildfires in San Diego County. This donation for East Texas will be distributed to several organizations on the ground aiding in disaster relief efforts, including the Houston Food Bank, American Red Cross and Houston SPCA.
Dean’s wife Susie Spanos did an amazing amount of charitable work in San Diego during the team’s time here. She was named to the NFL Foundation Board of Directors last year, overseeing work that the league, its 32 Clubs, and current and former players do to give back to NFL communities. The Foundation is donating $1 million to Houston relief effort.
The food and supply drive will take place on Wednesday, September 6, at the Vons grocery store at 4520 Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles. It will be collecting food and supplies from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Houston Food Bank has identified the following products as items of need: pop-top, ready-to-eat items; shelf-stable pantry items such as peanut butter, tuna and soup; bottled water; hand-held snack items such as granola bars; cleaning supplies such as paper towels and bleach; new personal hygiene items such as toothbrushes and toothpaste; and diapers, both baby and adult sizes.
Chargers players, General Manager Tom Telesco, Head Coach Anthony Lynn, members of the Spanos family and the Charger Girls will be on hand throughout the day to assist in the fundraising effort. At the end of the day a semi will be loaded with all the donated items and driven directly to the Houston Food Bank.
For information about how you can support the Houston Food Bank, American Red Cross and Houston SPCA, visit houstonfoodbank.org, redcross.org and houstonspca.org.
The NFL community has rallied to help Houston, led by Texans defensive lineman J.J. Watt’s relief initiative that (as of this writing) has raised in excess of $14 million for the relief effort. Other donors of note include Texans owner Bob McNair, who donated $1 million; Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who donated $1 million and held a telethon that raised $2.3 million total; the Lions ownership group led by Martha Ford donated $1 million; the Ravens donated $1 million; Falcons owner Arthur Blank and Patriots owner Bob Kraft are matching up to $1 million in fan donations; Jets owner Woody Johnson is donating $1 million; Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk donated $1 million; the Giants have pledged to donate $1 million; The Packers are donating $100,000 to Watt’s initiative; the Rams are giving fans the option to donate a portion of their ticket purchase to their season opener to the fundraising effort; the Vikings are donating $300,000; and the Bengals are donating net proceeds from tickets sold to their Thursday Night Football game at home against the Texans on September 14.
Several owners and athletes from other sports have made donations, as well.
