Recap of our Kansas City pay-away-the-lay-away with @TeamJuJu! 🎁
Buy Chiefs TicketsWe paid off nearly $10,000 in layaway balances for gifts and holiday essentials at @Burlington! 🎄 pic.twitter.com/eryj4bxQqN
— JuJu Foundation (@JuJuFoundation) December 14, 2022
A first-year member of the Kansas City Chiefs gave back to his new community ahead of the holiday season.
Chiefs WR JuJu Smith-Schuster and his JuJu Foundation hosted an event on Monday, surprising a number of local Kansas City families by paying off their layaway balances at Burlington. In total, they paid nearly $10K to clear the layaway balances and help local families in need afford gifts.
“I’m here with Burlington today with pay-away-the-layaway to actually make this happen,” Smith-Schuster said. “This is really cool. It’s around the holidays and I know how it is for families who (can’t) get the gifts that they want for their kids. So, this is a way for the JuJu Foundation to give back to those in need.”
✨Bringing holiday cheer to Kansas City!@TeamJuJu and @JuJuFoundation surprised families at a Kansas City @Burlington and paid off nearly $10,000 in layaway balances for gifts and holiday essentials! 🎁 pic.twitter.com/gsvmyqVicB
— JuJu Foundation (@JuJuFoundation) December 13, 2022
Smith-Schuster explained that his own experiences and upbringing around the holidays helped inspire this generosity.
“At some point in my life, I was once in their position,” Smith-Schuster said. “There (were) times and years where I didn’t get gifts. There (were) times and years where I had to share gifts. My foundation is all about giving back and knowing how it feels to be in their shoes at a young age, how it is, knowing that I can give back it’s really cool. This is awesome too because it’s my first one in K.C.”
This is the JuJu Foundation’s first event in Kansas City after Smith-Schuster signed with the team as a free agent back in March.
“I love it so much, because being part of the community is what it’s all about,” Smith-Schuster said. “These people are die-hard fans, they support us every Sunday, every game that we play in and it’s just nice that I have an opportunity to be a good role model for these kids and give back to the community.”
Smith-Schuster does have one more gift on layaway that he’s hoping he and his teammates can deliver to the entire Kansas City community this February.
“What do I want for Christmas? To be honest, I came here for one reason and that’s to win a Super Bowl,” Smith-Schuster said. “That’s my Christmas wish.”
