Twas two weeks before Christmas, when all through a warehouse in Philadelphia, volunteers worked diligently to organize a building full of toys for the many girls and boys in the Philadelphia school district. A herculean effort by The Philly Specials — a musical group comprised of Philadelphia Eagles of past and present, whose music is produced by former Eagle Connor Barwin and Grammy-award winner Charlie Hall — led this endeavor of love that, just in time for the holiday season, was coming to a head.
The Philly Specials created the initiative, known as Operation Snowball, which collaborates with global partners, retailers, and toy companies, who donated 200,000 items, from toys to apparel, cosmetics, and more in support of local public school students.
Eagles offensive lineman Jordan Mailata joined School District of Philadelphia Superintendent Tony B. Watlington, and Kathryn Epps, President and CEO of The Fund of the School District of Philadelphia, on Tuesday afternoon, at a Philadelphia warehouse where donated toys are being stored for ‘Operation Snowball’. Shortly after Mailata entered to roars of applause, a special guest had arrived — local legend Jason Kelce.
Kelce joined Mailata, Watlington, and Epps to discuss their appreciation for all those who had contributed to accomplishing what seemed to be impossible. After many rounds of photos and autographs, Kelce — alongside Connor Barwin and Charlie Hall — discussed the Philly Specials’ latest holiday album, ‘A Philly Special Christmas Party. ’
“We’ve been fortunate to do this album two previous years and raise a lot of money for other organizations and charitable causes,” Kelce told Metro. “And we had this idea of trying to get a kid a gift. We’ve kind of toyed around with it for a couple years now, but it really just seemed insurmountable the amount of infrastructure and organization of getting that underway and going. And I think Connor (Barwin) and I talked about it again this year, and kind of like explored the opportunity. And Connor was really the one who was like, ‘I think we’ll be able to pull this off.'”
Barwin quickly added, “Kelce had this idea, and I was like, ‘Man, this is incredible. I love that. You think that big.’ And then Jordan (Mailata) and Lane (Johnson) sort of pushed all of us to figure it out. And just like the record, it was a small group that did the first record, and then Charlie (Hall) and people started asking other musicians to get involved, and everybody wanted to be involved because there was just something special about it.”
And then with Operation Snowball, I was like, ‘All right, Jason, we’re going to figure this out. This is the last record.’ and I just started calling people, and everybody wanted to help. I think it speaks to the spirit of the holidays. It speaks to the reputation of Jordan, Jason, and Lane, but also the spirit of Philadelphia. I only think this Christmas record with these guys happens in Philadelphia. I only think 200,000 kids can get gifts from a Christmas record and fill it up. And enough people have to agree to work together to figure it out in a matter of, really, two months.”
[I’m] just incredibly thankful to all the people that have purchased the record,” Barwin continued. “It wouldn’t have been possible without that. And then all of the toy companies that have donated a lot of toys. And especially to Jason, he did a deal with Spin Master, and he got the whole thing started. He got a huge donation from that, and then they sort of seeded it, and we had the confidence to go out there and try to figure the rest out.”
Charlie Hall echoed Barwin’s thoughts on the community of Philadelphia and the amazing way it comes together.
“I think that we often use the word community, and that means different things, but I think this is truly an expression of this community,” Hall said. “It could only happen with every partner, every company, every teacher that’s at a school unpacking boxes, every single person, everybody that works in this warehouse, everybody that’s volunteered. It’s just a reflection of this. Like Connor said, I don’t think this would happen anywhere else. It’s a beautiful thing to see everybody come together. Just the way, like Connor said, the musicians [came together], it just grew and grew and grew and became like this unimaginably beautiful thing. So just to see this actually happening is amazing.”
Before parting ways, Kelce was asked if, between working so hard to give a gift to every child in the Philadelphia school district and surprising folks with his pop-up concert with Mt. Joy last month and his unscheduled appearance for the event at hand, he was beginning to feel like Philadelphia’s own Santa Claus, to which he responded with a jolly laugh, before explaining the how not just he, but everyone gets the chance to be Santa this time of year.
“I think everybody gets to be Santa Claus around the holidays. And that’s the beauty of it, right? That’s the whole symbol of what that story and what he represents, is a thing that I think is the true holiday spirit.”
The Philly Specials have raised over $4.5 million in funds for local charities, including Children’s Crisis Treatment Center’s Holiday Toy Drive and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s (CHOP) Snowflake Station through their first two albums. To learn more, visit phillyspecialchristmas.com
