Inside ‘Joy to the Carolinas’: Nicole Tepper, Panthers players on why event is special
It’s 5:43 p.m. on a Tuesday.
The Carolina Panthers are 3-11. They are coming off a 16-point home loss to the Dallas Cowboys. But two days after that disappointing defeat, the mood at Bank of America Stadium is festive and merry. Some would even say joyous.
Nicole Tepper, co-founder of the David and Nicole Tepper Foundation, is smiling from ear to ear, as dozens of children exit a bus. She greets as many children as she can individually as the excited little ones file into an uneven but inspired line, with fake snow filling the air and the PurrCussion Drumline heightening the atmosphere with the group’s rhythmic routine.
Panthers owner David Tepper is displaying a similar grin, as he walks side by side with some of the youngsters in the jam-packed line.
For the foundation, its “Joy to the Carolinas” event is like a philanthropic Super Bowl.
“Just putting a smile on somebody’s face — I love giving — like, it’s my just my love language,” Nicole Tepper said. “So, to be able to give during the holiday season, it could be a little daunting. The holidays are fun, the lights are bright — but there are real problems in the world, and people are really going through it, and it kind of intensifies during the holiday season.
“So, to be able to take that, and bring it down a couple of notches, and show people that there are people who really care about you, and you’re not alone, that’s really important. And it feels good.”
More than 700 children from Boys and Girls Club and YMCA organizations across the Carolinas were chosen by the Second Harvest Food Bank’s Kids Cafe Program to take part in the annual event, now in its sixth year. The attendees received winter coats, shoes, and toys, and were served a massive holiday meal by more than 40 current and former Panthers players.
Center Cade Mays and outside linebackers D.J. Wonnum and Amare Barno handed out toys in one area, as general manager Dan Morgan and EVP of football operations Brandt Tilis continuously filled tables behind them. Quarterback Bryce Young, defensive end A’Shawn Robinson, and newly-arrived running back Velus Jones Jr. handed out new shoes and autographed shirts nearby.
“I think it’s just an awesome opportunity for us to try to give back to the community,” Young said. “The community does so much for us. We’re who we are off the support of our city, of the Carolinas, of everyone, and we’re so grateful for everyone who comes out and supports. And unfortunately, we don’t always get to have those one-on-one interactions with people, and I don’t think we get to say how grateful we are for the community that embraces all of us and supports us.”
Nicole Tepper walked the entirety of the stadium’s club level during the event, as kids flocked from station to station, grabbing winter gear from Belk department store.
She checked in on tight end Jordan Matthews and running back Raheem Blackshear in one food line, before chatting with running backs Jonathon Brooks and Chuba Hubbard and left tackle Ikem Ekwonu, who worked the line on the opposite end of the room.
Hubbard, the Panthers’ leading rusher, has been working the event since he arrived in town as a fourth-round draft pick in 2021. Tepper remembers when Hubbard was just a shy rookie who was learning his way around the team and philanthropy.
“When he was a rookie, he was real quiet,” she recalled. “He was just kind of a ‘thinker,’ so to speak. And then he had to volunteer as part of the rookie program ... but he opened up with the kids. And even my husband was like, ‘Wow, look at Chuba.’ He was amazing, and then, ever since that event, he has just blossomed, and (former Panthers wideout) D.J. Moore was the same. And, for me, that’s what is really special about community, is it humanizes them. And you get to see a side of them that you wouldn’t see on the football field, but I think it just really opens them up and it helps.”
“Obviously, you love football, and you appreciate everything the game does in terms of that, but this is the whole other side of things that we really, really care about and appreciate,” Hubbard said. “All of us have been kids at some point, and this would be like a dream come true, especially for kids that aren’t able to get things like this, it means the world to them.”
Following the meal and the gifts, the children were treated to their very own stadium entrance on the field, flocking out of the tunnel to hype music like the players on Sundays. From there, they enjoyed chatting and playing around with players, including rookie wide receivers Xavier Legette and Jalen Coker and veteran offensive linemen Austin Corbett and Brady Christensen.
“The community in the Carolinas is just amazing,” Corbett said. “And for the Teppers, stepping up in the way they did and putting this event on, just the opportunity that we have as players, to come out and just be with these kids and just have a fun time ... it’s just truly an honor to be a part of that.”
More than 250 volunteers from Tepper Sports & Entertainment and its corporate partners — including more than a handful of injured players — gave the kids a night they won’t soon forget. And the joy on their faces throughout the evening was hard to ignore.
Similarly, Nicole Tepper was beaming. And she’s already thinking about next year’s event.
“I already have different ideas of what I want to do, and how this is going to work, and it’s fun,” she said. “I think the (organizational) buy-in is real, but it’s organic, it’s a natural buy-in. It’s not forced. It takes a lot of hard work, and it’s consistency, and that’s what makes it special.”
This story was originally published December 19, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
