Vikings WR Adam Thielen blesses 10 families
For the second year in a row, Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen helped provide a merry Christmas for families served by The Salvation Army. (View photos.)
This year’s event was bigger and better. It featured dinner, more personal time with Thielen, and a tour of TCO Performance Center in Eagan. What’s more, Thielen was able to invite 10 families, up from five families last year. Each family received a pile of presents courtesy of The Thielen Foundation and a $200 grocery gift card courtesy of Cub.
“My wife bought the presents and did a lot of the wrapping – our house was a disaster for the last month,” Thielen said with a laugh. “This is a really cool event. We want to create a good Christmas for all of these families.”
One of the families included a single mother named Brianna from St. Paul. She works hard to provide for her two young kids, but money is tight. If not for this event, her kids would have gone without presents this Christmas.
“This is their Christmas,” Brianna said with a smile, pointing at the presents the Thielens had given her children.
The event lifted the spirits of another single mother named Bershada. She has been on medical leave for three months. Although she is scheduled to return to work Dec. 23, she would not have received a paycheck in time to buy any Christmas presents for her kids.
“This is awesome,” Bershada said. “I’d been really depressed – until I came here.”
The Thielens launched The Thielen Foundation several months ago to expand their positive impact on Minnesota youth.
“Now that’s we’ve launched our foundation, we have the resources to help more families,” the All Pro wideout said. “After seeing all of the smiles on the faces of the families last year, we wanted to do this year’s event bigger and better.”
Poverty is an everyday battle that families don’t always win. Thankfully, there is an army of loving people like you who fight on their behalf. Your generosity puts food on their table, presents under their tree, and joy in their hearts. Join the fight for good by donating online or at a red kettle, becoming a volunteer bell ringer, or recruiting your own army of fundraisers at FundraiseForGood.org. Learn more about how The Salvation Army fights poverty in your community.