Children in Pandemic Crisis: Green Bay Teammates Go Beyond the Football Field to Respond in a Time of Great Need
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. – Saturday’s playoff football game showed what a home-field advantage can mean, even with far less fans in the stands due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That win goes beyond the playing field for the Green Bay Packers’ athletes who have joined Compassion International’s Fill The Stadium team to help children in crisis in the developing world during COVID.
Along with many other professional athletes and national leaders, Mason Crosby, Green Bay’s current kicker; Aaron Kampman, Green Bay’s former defensive end; and Jordy Nelson, Green Bay’s former wide receiver, signed on to Compassion International’s Fill The Stadium effort to make a difference in the lives of children facing starvation around the globe due to the pandemic.
Fill The Stadium has a clear goal over the next 12 months: to provide life-saving aid to 70,000 children in Compassion International’s programs who missed out on relief this year due to gaps of support created by the COVID-19 crisis. The target of 70,000 is the average capacity of pro-football stadiums in America. Fill The Stadium leaders hope that fans who normally would have spent money on professional sports games this year—but couldn’t—choose instead to support children and their families at risk of starvation.
“Compassion International’s Fill The Stadium Team are looking to sign more teammates,” stated Kampman. “We invite you to join us, by acting to meet the needs of children who are in dire crisis.”
Nelson agreed, “We have an opportunity to share the love of Jesus with a child who is suffering from hunger and at risk of starvation. We are responding to this opportunity and are asking others to join us.”
Fill The Stadium team leaders—Santiago “Jimmy” Mellado, CEO and president of Compassion International, and Steve Stenstrom, president of Pro Athletes Outreach—have already received a strong assist from 37 athletes and leaders.
The Fill The Stadium team notes that $500—approximately the same amount most Americans would spend for a family of four to attend a pro-football game—will help provide 12 months of life saving food, nutritional supplements, hygiene essentials, and COVID-19 medical screenings for children and families in crisis. So far, the group has “filled” over 22,000 seats— on their way to the goal of helping 70,000 children.
Joining Crosby, Kampman, Nelson and Mellado in leadership roles for Fill The Stadium efforts are such standout professional athletes as Nick Foles, professional football MVP quarterback; Alyssa Naeher of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team; Carson Palmer, former professional quarterback; Chris Davis, first baseman of the Baltimore Orioles; Devin and Jason McCourty, defensive backs of New England; Nate Solder of the New York Giants; Nick Ahmed of the Arizona Diamondbacks; Jaccob Slavin of the Carolina Hurricanes; Brock Huard, former professional quarterback, and many others.
In this year of coronavirus, “We are all experiencing the reality of empty stadiums,” says the Fill The Stadium team. It’s why this effort so desperately needs a caring, prayerful and thoughtful community to join together in this needed relief.
To learn more, visit the Fill The Stadium website, and Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.