Mark Barron made Thanksgiving a little more memorable for residents of his Alabama hometown when 1,500 turkeys were distributed to families last Saturday.
The Pittsburgh Steelers inside linebacker’s only regret was he couldn’t be there in person to take in the moment.
The turkey drive in Prichard, Ala., coincided with the Steelers’ travel day prior to their game at Cincinnati.
“The way we do it, it’s set up where timing-wise it doesn’t work out for me to be there,” Barron said Thursday.
His efforts didn’t go unrecognized. The NFL Players’ Association on Thursday named Barron its Week 12 community MVP. The NFLPA will donate $10,000 to a charity of Barron’s choice, and he’ll be eligible to win the NFLPA’s Alan Page Community Award at the end of the season.
Steelers defensive end Cameron Heyward won the award in Week 9.
This is the fourth year that Barron, 30, and his family members have distributed turkeys in Prichard, which is located near Birmingham. He has given away more than 6,000 turkeys overall while donating over $15,000 in cash and $250,000 in gifts.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” Barron said. “When I got a few year in the league, I got the time and the resources to get it going.”
Turkeys were distributed at two locations – city hall and a community center – because Barron’s family moved when he was young, and he wanted to provide for underprivileged families from both locations.
“Growing up, my family didn’t have a lot, but if a neighbor came over and needed something, we always shared,” he said. “It was that type of community. If you have enough to share, then share. People did it for us if we needed something. It was that type of mutual willingness to help that I grew up around.”
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