If you tune in to Thursday’s Thanksgiving Day matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs, you’ll likely notice the red kettles promoting the Salvation Army.
For 29 years, the Cowboys have partnered with the Salvation Army to raise funds for the organization’s annual Red Kettle campaign. The campaign has raised more than $3 billion.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is heavily involved in the partnership, as the organization funds food and toys for families in need at Christmas. The Salvation Army also provides year-round assistance such as rent, utilities and shelters.
In 2024, the Salvation Army supported more than 28 million people.
“The Salvation Army, with its over 5,000 officers, they are the most efficient organization I think there is,” Jones said. “If you want a dollar to go to the people that you’re putting it in the Red Kettle to help, do it through the Salvation Army. They’re the most efficient. You have more of it go for the pair of shoes or for a little Christmas for somebody that wouldn’t have had it, put it in the Red Kettle campaign.
To use, in sport, if you will, the NFL and our Thanksgiving game, and to use all this visibility that we have to not only celebrate but know what the Salvation Army is — to do that is one of the neatest things that I’ve been involved in in sport.”
Charlotte Jones, the Cowboys’ chief brand officer, emphasized that money raised during the Red Kettle campaign stays in local communities.
“Maybe they will give, maybe they will volunteer, or maybe they will adopt an angel, and they can provide a Christmas for a child who wouldn’t otherwise have it,” she said.
You can learn more about the campaign on the Salvation Army's website.
