Before the Bears took off for Philadelphia to play the Eagles on Prime Video, the club spent time in the Chicagoland community surprising 10 different nonprofits with a $25,000 donation.

As part of their TNF For Good initiative, Amazon gifted both the Bears and Eagles $250,000 to combat food insecurity in their respective cities, allowing Bears Care — the organization’s charitable arm — to help support various food banks across Illinois and local nonprofits.

“We are extremely thankful to Amazon for their generous donation, which has allowed us, together, to make a direct impact on food insecurity during this holiday season,” director of Bears Care Marge Hamm said. “Their contribution helped us provide greatly needed financial support to food banks throughout the state and reach our fans in need not just in Chicago, but all parts of Illinois.”

Quarterback Caleb Williams kicked off the series of surprises just a few miles down the road from Halas Hall with a visit to the Northern Illinois Food Bank Nov. 17, the day after the Bears traveled back from their win over the Vikings.

Williams’ involvement in community service, specifically relating to food insecurity, dates back to his youth at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. when the football program, led by coach Randy Trivers, served meals to the homeless and helped raise money and collect food for the less fortunate. The second-year pro shared that story with staff at the food bank and expressed his gratitude for being a part of helping support the same cause in the Chicagoland area.

“There’s been many times throughout my career whether I was a younger guy or in college, and whether it’s after a win or a loss, being able to come back to these moments and do stuff like this has always been a part of it,” Williams shared. “It’s very grounding and helps you understand where you’re at in life. You also get to put smiles on other people’s faces, so it’s encouraging, it’s supportive to the community and that’s what we should be doing, especially with our platform.”

Those at the food bank thought Williams was just popping by for a tour and to learn more about the organization, so when he brought out the big check, they were taken aback. Colleen Ahearn, the food bank’s chief philanthropy officer, knows the donation “is going to make a huge difference for our neighbors in Illinois.”

“The Bears have been extremely generous to us in being involved here,” Ahearn said. “It is really meaningful because we don’t always know who is food insecure, who is hungry right now. It could be the person in the car next to you, it could be your neighbor. We can only do so much. We rely on volunteers here — 1,000 a week — so without people spreading the news, it’s really hard to do what we do.

“The Bears have such a great platform and obviously with Caleb, this was such a surprise. to be able to have that awareness and have somebody like that involved with the food bank means a lot because people are looking up to him and people are watching that.”