Patriots' Brandon Copeland, 19 NFL Stars Deliver $160K in Gifts to 200 Families

Helping his community off the field is nothing new for New England Patriots linebacker Brandon Copeland, and he did what he could to help families in underserved communities during the holiday season.

The NFL Players Association announced Thursday he was recognized as the Week 15 NFLPA Community MVP after he teamed up with 19 other players to provide 200 families with more than $160,000 in gifts for the holiday season.

The effort was part of his his Beyond The Basics foundation's annual December To Remember.

Fans joined what they thought were virtual meetings with players just to find out Copeland and his peers were providing $800 gift cards to families for the holidays.

Josh Bynes (Cincinnati), Jason Cabinda (Detroit), Blake Cashman (New York Jets), Quandre Diggs (Seattle), Joel Gamble, Alec Ingold, James Onwualu (Las Vegas), Darius Jennings, Cameron Lynch, Devin and Jason McCourty, Deatrich Wise Jr. (New England), Kevin Minter, Justin Watson (Tampa Bay), Brennan Scarlett (Houston), Keith Smith (Atlanta), Kyle Van Noy (Miami), Tahir Whitehead (Carolina) and Avery Williamson (Pittsburgh) were also involved.

The NFLPA will donate $10,000 to Copeland's Beyond The Basics foundation in recognition of his award.

The Patriots linebacker was also recognized by his peers in January as the 2020 Alan Page Community Award winner, which is given to a player "who demonstrates a profound dedication to positively impacting his team’s city and communities across the country."