LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. – As part of the NFL's My Cause, My Cleats campaign, more than 50 Washington Football Team players and coaches created custom cleats to raise awareness for initiatives and causes they are passionate about. Players will have the opportunity to wear the cleats during Week 13 when Washington takes on the Pittsburgh Steelers. Cleats will be unveiled throughout the week and fans can learn more about their passions beyond the game and the stories that inspired their cleat designs as well as how to bid on their cleats at www.WashingtonFootball.com/MyCauseMyCleats. Bidding is now open online and will close at 3 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 11. All proceeds will benefit the charity featured on the player's cleats.
The My Cause, My Cleats initiative is a collaborative effort between the NFL and players across the league to raise awareness for philanthropic organizations and movements by wearing unique cleats. The Washington Football Team will showcase their cleats at Heinz Field when they face the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday, Dec. 7. Cleats will continue to be added to the silent auction page leading up to Washington's My Cause, My Cleats game.
Additionally, the Washington Football Team created four pairs of custom cleats as part of the initiative with four different team-related themes including, No Name But Team, Rivera Strong, Women of Washington and Salute to Service. Proceeds from all four pairs of the custom cleats will benefit the Washington Football Charitable Foundation, American Cancer Society, Women's HQ and USO of Metropolitan Washington.
Washington players and coaches relied on a number of different cleat designers and artists for their custom designs for this year's My Cause, My Cleats campaign, including SolesBySir, Undefined Arts and Dez Customz.
Fans can support the cause that means the most to them through the online auction at https://handbid.app.link/MCMC20. The silent auction is now open and will close on Friday, Dec. 11 at 3 p.m. Cleats will continue to be added to the auction site throughout the next week. For more information on participating players, visit www.WashingtonFootball.com/MyCauseMyCleats.
Here are the Washington players and coaches participating in My Cause, My Cleats:
| Player | Cause/Non-Profit | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Kyle Allen | NEGU (Jessie Rees Foundation) | NEGU (Jessie Rees Foundation) fulfills its mission by connecting with families, bringing awareness to their stories, offering them a network of helpful resources and sending the entire family continual doses of encouragement throughout their journey. https://negu.org/ |
| Jonathan Allen | Sasha Bruce Youthwork | Allen will use his cleats to support at-risk youth in Washington, D.C. through Sasha Bruce Youthwork, which helps runaway, homeless, abused and neglected youth. https://www.sashabruce.org/ |
| Troy Apke | Wolf Trap Animal Rescue | Wolf Trap Animal Rescue is an animal shelter whose mission is to support a life-saving foster, transport and adoption program. https://www.wtarescue.com/ |
| Peyton Barber | Peyton Barber Foundation | The Peyton Barber Foundation (PBF) strives to uplift and inspire generational change in underserved communities by investing in academic, wellness and economic initiatives, which will create opportunities for personal and societal advancement. https://peytonbarber.com/foundation |
| Jon Bostic | Multiple System Atrophy Coalition | The Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) Coalition™ founded in 1989, is devoted to improving the quality of life and building hope for people affected by MSA through a four-pillar mission. https://www.multiplesystematrophy.org/charity/ |
| Geron Christian, Cornelius Lucas and Cam Sims | Community Justice Exchange | Community Justice Exchange is a national hub for developing tools, resources and education to end mass incarceration and is committed to ending all forms of wrongful detention and criminalization. https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/ |
| Aaron Colvin | TSIII Foundation | The TS3 FOUNDATION is driven by a single goal; to do our part in making the world a better place for all. Our decision-making process is informed by comprehensive empirical studies and high quality data evaluation. We strive to build productive relationships and make a positive impact with all of our pursuits. https://www.ts3foundation.com/ |
| Kamren Curl, Antonio Gandy-Golden, Dontrelle Inman, Bryce Love, J.D. McKissic and Doug Williams | The National Museum of African American History and Culture | The National Museum of African American History and Culture is the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture. https://nmaahc.si.edu/ |
| Ronald Darby, Danny Johnson, David Sharpe, Steven Sims Jr. and Montez Sweat | BREM Foundation | These players will be using their cleats to continue to raise awareness for breast cancer research and education by supporting The Brem Foundation, an organization dedicated to educating women about risk factors and screening options and providing access to critical diagnostic tests for uninsured women. https://www.bremfoundation.org/ |
| Thomas Davis Sr. | Thomas Davis Defending Dreams Foundation | The TDDDF was founded by Thomas Davis with this vision to change the lives of underprivileged children on a national level and give them hope to do whatever is necessary to defend their dreams. https://www.defendingdreams.org/ |
| Antonio Gibson | Lupus Foundation of America | Gibson chose the Lupus Foundation of America to support his cousin. The Lupus Foundation of America’s mission is to improve the quality of life for all people affected by lupus through programs of research, education, support and advocacy. https://www.lupus.org/ |
| Cole Holcomb | Thumbs Up Mission | Holcomb will use his cleats to support the Thumbs Up Mission whose focus is to battle fear by infusing hope, inspiring laughter and instilling an eternal perspective in families affected by cancer. https://www.thumbsupmission.org/ |
| Khaleke Hudson | Black Lives Matter | Black Lives Matter was founded in 2013 in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin’s murderer. Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, Inc. is a global organization in the US, UK, and Canada, whose mission is to build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes. https://blacklivesmatter.com |
| Keith Ismael | National Urban League | The National Urban League spearheads the efforts of its local affiliates through the development of programs, public policy research, and advocacy. Today, the National Urban League has 90 affiliates serving 300 communities in 37 states and the District of Columbia, providing direct services that impact and improve the lives of more than two million people nationwide. https://nul.org/ |
| Ryan Kerrigan | Leukemia and Lymphoma Society | Kerrigan will continue his support for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, whose mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Kerrigan also hosts a golf tournament every year in conjunction with LLS to raise funds for the cause. https://www.lls.org/ |
| Jennifer King | Women’s Sports Foundation | The Women’s Sports Foundation was established in 1974 to advance the lives of women and girls through sports and physical activity. Our mission is to enable all girls and women to reach their potential in sports and life. https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/ |
| Ron Rivera, Randy Jordan, Scott Turner, Drew Terrell, Cole Luke and Isaiah Wright | American Cancer Society | The American Cancer Society is dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by promoting healthy lifestyles, researching cancer and its causes to find more answers and better treatments and fighting for lifesaving policy changes. https://www.cancer.org/ |
| Wes Martin | Brave Breed Rescue Inc. | Brave Breed Rescue was founded by Martin and his mother to rescue and rehome dogs of all breeds. https://www.bravebreed.org/ |
| Terry McLaurin | Boys & Girls Club of America | Boys & Girls Club of America |
| Fabian Moreau | Alzheimer’s Association | Moreau will support the Alzheimer’s Association to honor his grandfather who passed away from Alzheimer’s. The Alzheimer’s Association leads the way to end Alzheimer’s and all other dementia by accelerating global research, driving risk reduction and early detection, and maximizing quality care and support. https://www.alz.org/ |
| Jimmy Moreland | MADD (Mother’s Against Drunk Driving) | MADD (Mother’s Against Drunk Driving) |
| Jared Norris | National Alliance on Mental Illness | The National Alliance on Mental Illness provides advocacy, education, support and public awareness so that all individuals and families affected by mental illness can build better lives. https://www.nami.org/Home |
| Daron Payne | Jimmie Hale Mission | The Jimmie Hale Mission helps those afflicted by homelessness in downtown Birmingham through education remediation, job readiness and spiritual support. https://jimmiehalemission.com/ |
| Ross Pierschbacher | American Diabetes Association | The American Diabetes Association seeks to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all, leading the fight against the deadly consequences of diabetes and fight for those affected by diabetes. https://www.diabetes.org/ |
| Chase Roullier | Hogfarmers Inc. Charitable Foundation | The Hogfarmers, life-long Washington football fans, raise money and awareness for pediatric cancer patients by supporting families in the greater Washington D.C. area. |
| Brandon Scherff | Aiming for a Cure Foundation | The Aiming for a Cure Foundation helps children and their families that suffer from various forms of cancer. The Foundation raises and donates millions of dollars for the funding of research and patient care of pediatric oncology patients. https://www.aimingforacure.com/ |
| Wes Schweitzer | 19 For Life | 19 For Life honors D.J. Frandsen by funding off-site recreational activities for children coping with serious illness at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, creating scholarships for local high school athletes who have overcome illness and adversity and providing seniors needing financial assistance with their education. https://nineteenforlife.org/ |
| James Smith-Williams | #SetTheExpectation | Smith-Williams is the first NFL ambassador for #SetTheExpectation, which combats sexual and physical violence through raising awareness, giving back, education and direct engagement with coaches, students and athletes in high school, collegiate and professional athletic programs. https://settheexpectation.org/ |
| Jeremy Sprinkle | Autism Speaks | Autism Speaks is dedicated to promoting solutions for the needs of individuals with autism and their families. They do this through advocacy and support, increasing understanding and acceptance of those with autism, and advancing research into causes and better advances for autism spectrum disorder. https://www.autismspeaks.org/ |
| Dustin Hopkins, Nick Sundberg and Tress Way | Washington Charitable Foundation Loads of Love | Hopkins, Sundberg and Way will support the Washington Football Charitable Foundation’s Loads of Love Program, which helps bring washers and dryers to schools for students experiencing homelessness or an unstable living situation to have laundry completed in school at no cost to them or their families. The goal is to remove a barrier for student attendance and participation in after school programs and sports by providing them a discreet solution to the challenge of having clean clothes. at no cost to them or their families. www.washingtonfootball.com/community/ |
| Chase Young | The American Civil Liberties Union | The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States. https://www.aclu.org/ |
