Here’s what happened when Jason Kelce and the Philly Specials hand-delivered holiday presents to Philly kids
It was a nine-vehicle caravan through the city, complete with police and fire escorts and Gov. Josh Shapiro and Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. as hype men.
Jason Kelce, Jordan Mailata, and Lane Johnson: bigger than Santa.
Just ask the hundreds of students at Kirkbride Elementary, who were absolutely breathless Tuesday when the trio — The Philly Specials — visited their South Philadelphia school to personally distribute holiday presents, part of “Operation Snowball,” their project to give a gift to every kid and teacher in city public and charter schools.
It was indeed an operation: a nine-vehicle caravan through the city, complete with police and fire escorts and Gov. Josh Shapiro and Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. as hype men. And to Kirkbride student Nicholas Malerba, it was maybe the best day of his life.
“I never went to a game, but I’ve been an Eagles fan my whole life,” said Malerba, 13, an eighth grader who said he was so excited knowing he might see actual Eagles in person that he couldn’t sleep the night before. “This is better than Santa.”
In the packed, loud-as-a-rock-concert basement Kirkbride gym, some of Nicholas’ classmates wept with joy at the sight of their surprise guests.
Over the course of a week, Operation Snowball distributed nearly 200,000 gifts. Kelce, Mailata, Johnson, former Eagle Connor Barwin, and comedian Pete Davidson (”because I’m an honorary Eagles fan,”) made stops at three schools — Kirkbride, Benjamin Franklin High School, and Alliance for Progress Charter School, a K-8 in North Philadelphia — to personally give out gifts Tuesday.
All middle- and high-schoolers got Wawa gift cards, Tarte Cosmetics lip oil, and winter hats; kids in elementary schools got toys ranging from Marvel board games to plush toys and Rubik’s Cubes.
Tristan Upchurch, a second grader at Alliance for Progress, clutched his toy to his chest. His eyes were wide.
“I got a Star Wars guy,” said Upchurch. “From the Eagles!”
The former and current Eagles, and the presents, were a highlight, but the mood was generally infectious holiday joy. When the big four mascots — the Phillie Phanatic, Gritty, Franklin, and Swoop — stormed into the Kirkbride gym, kids’ and adults’ enthusiasm spilled over.
“This is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me in my life,” said Shira Cohen, the school’s seventh- and eighth-grade math teacher and a huge Philly sports fan.
If the kids and teachers were in high spirits, the Philly Specials matched their energy.
Mailata performed an a cappella version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (after faking the audience out with a line from the “Fresh Prince of Bel Air” theme song, naturally). Kelce led students in an E-A-G-L-E-S chant. The group danced along as the Ben Franklin cheerleaders gave an electric welcome to their building.
Operation Snowball came together in just over a month. Kelce’s initial wish was to give every child in Philadelphia a gift, but eventually settled on giving a gift to every child in Philadelphia public and charter schools — 200,000 students in all.
It was “just a crazy opportunity to be able to bless and make someone’s Christmas,” said Mailata. And no, he didn’t feel nervous singing live for the students. “Singing for our kids, that’s easy. Especially the little ones, you see the joy in their face. Beats the world, man.”
Once the Specials hatched their gift-giving plan, it was up to Kathryn Epps Roberson, CEO of the Fund for the School District of Philadelphia, the system’s fundraising arm, to make it happen — in six weeks, she said.
“We’re a team, we work together,” said Kelce. Epps Roberson nodded.
“As someone who raises money for public schools every day,” she said, “I can tell you this has never been done before.”