The Steelers announced a total of $595,000 in donations, from both the organization and individual players to their Social Justice Fund Initiative this past year. Since its inception in 2018, the Steelers and their players have donated more than $3.5 million to community causes.
"I'm really proud of our players for recognizing and addressing the need for Pittsburgh families to have access to healthy meals," said Steelers President Art Rooney II. "Since the inception of the Social Justice Fund, our Social Justice Committee has worked hard to understand and meet the needs of our community.
Led by team captain Cameron Heyward, and joined by punter Corliss Waitman, safety Kyle Dugger, tight end Pat Freiermuth, offensive lineman Andrus Peat, and linebackers Patrick Queen and T.J. Watt, many players made contributions of $10,000 or more.
This year, due to rise in families reporting food insecurity, contributions were made to 13 organizations, mainly in the Pittsburgh area that focused on providing food to families in need and combating food deserts.
"The first thing that comes to mind is as athletes, they know how important good nutrition is, how important it is to eat well, to have healthy food available for themselves and their families. Food is a basic human right. We want all our neighbors to have the food they need to lead healthy, active lives," said Lisa Scales, President and CEO of the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.
"This donation from the Steelers Social Justice Fund means so much to us at the Food Bank. For every dollar donated, we're able to provide food for three meals and we're able to do that because of how we receive food. Every dollar that is donated allows us to provide more food and services in the community. Every dollar is important."
Since 2018, Steelers players' contributions, along with the matching donations from Steelers Charities, have benefited more than 86 charitable organizations throughout the region.
