Jerry Jones and his storied football franchise, the Dallas Cowboys, are giving to the needy through the Salvation Army over the holidays, and hoping the team gets going in its traditional Thanksgiving Day game.
"Well it's called a 'W,' we want to win the football game," Jones said to Cheddar about the holiday contest with a laugh. "We're sitting in the end zone here at AT&T Stadium, and those red kettles really are going to be just a few feet away. And we've been practicing on it, and when we score, we want those guys over in that kettle."
The iconic red kettles, smaller than the ones that will be featured in Thursday's game, are utilized by the Salvation Army, the Christian church and charitable organization, to collect donations. They can often be seen accompanied by bell-ringing volunteers in public spaces from early November through Christmas Eve.
"I think of the most efficient way to take a dollar and have it immediately go to shoes for somebody that has none, go to food when they don't have anything to eat," Jones said. "The Salvation Army is how to do that through the red kettle, right there without any in-between. It is the efficiency which is really something you look at with football as well."
The red kettle received a windfall gift from what was, at first, a negative incident for the NFL team, when superstar running back Ezekiel Elliott held out for a bigger contract. Owner Jerry Jones dismissed the player with the remark "Zeke Who?" at the time during the acrimonious dispute.
"In 2016 we watched Zeke jump into the kettle and just a few months when we re-signed Zeke ... and we held up 'Zeke Who?' t-shirts, we sold all of those and the $150,000 that was raised, all of it went to the Salvation Army," said Charlotte Jones Anderson, executive vice president and chief brand officer for the Dallas Cowboys. "We hope to see what he does tomorrow."
The 8-3 Buffalo Bills will be taking on the 6-5 Cowboys at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Jeff Softley, direct to consumer president at Experian, joins Cheddar News to discuss what it means to be credit invisible, how big of an issue this is in the U.S., and what resources are out there to bridge this gap.
Sēkr, a mobile app that aims to improve and digitize the outdoor travel experience, announced this week that it raised a $2.25 million seed round. In the Sēkr app, users can get access to more than 50,000 campsites throughout the U.S. including the nation's largest database of free campsites. The company is saying it is on a mission to make every step of the planning experience for outdoor travel easier, safer, and more social. Breanne Acio, co-founder and CEO of Sēkr, and Jess Shisler, co-founder and COO, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
In a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed for a controversial new version of the Alabama congressional map to remain in place. The lower court had previously ordered that the state must redraw that congressional map because it violates the Voting Rights Act by diluting the political power of Black voters. Redistricting expert Yurij Rudensky joins Cheddar News to weigh in.
The Winter Olympics are in full swing and athletes from around the globe are showcasing their elite skills at a wide variety of events. There's a lot of excitement but also a lot of pressure for these athletes. Former NFL defensive tackle and Super Bowl champion Dominique Easley joined Cheddar News to weigh in.
American freestyle skier Jaelin Kauf joins Cheddar News to talk about taking home the silver medal in the Women's Moguls Final at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
This episode of ChedHER is all about helping women thrive in their careers and rise up in the ranks. Guests include female leaders from across industries including sports, advertising, and so much more.
Sonja Stills, Commissioner of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, joins ChedHER to discuss her experience being the first female leader in this role, and how she plans on carrying on the legacy of the MEAC.
