Seattle teacher raises $20,000 to buy Seahawks jerseys for students

Jan 19, 2014; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks outside linebacker Malcolm Smith (53) celebrates with free safety Earl Thomas (29) and strong safety Kam Chancellor (31) after intercepting a pass in the end zone in the fourth quarter of the 2013 NFC Championship game against the San Francisco 49ers at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: William Perlman/THE STAR-LEDGER via USA TODAY Sports /

Kevin Zelko, a teacher at Kimball Elementary in Seattle, recently raised over $20,000 so he could buy a Seattle Seahawks jersey for every kid in the school.

According to For the Win, Zelko, who also works as a beer vendor at Seahawks games, had the idea after the Seahawks beat the New Orleans Saints to advance to the NFC Championship Game. Zelko made more many than usual that weekend and decided to set the extra money aside in order to purchase jerseys for a handful of students. Friends of Zelko’s began to chip in more money so more jerseys could be purchased, and the teacher then took to GoFundMe to start collecting donations.

Zelko explained the importance of the jerseys to For the Win:

"The ability to keep everybody included in something that the entire city is talking about is really powerful. The smiles on their faces when they get a Seahawks jersey will be very impressive and many of the kids will remember this for the rest of their lives."

If Zelko’s name sounds familiar to you, that’s because he’s the same beer vendor who started taking orders via Twitter at Seattle Mariners games.

[Source: For the Win]

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