New York, NY (Top40 Charts) The
Philly Specials - Jason, Lane, and Jordan - surprised students at Ben
Franklin High School,
Eliza B. Kirkbride School, and Alliance Charter School as Operation Snowball arrived via motorcade which included The Philly Specials' red Astrovan, a
Philly Specials toy truck, police escorts, three Amazon delivery vans, and a firetruck amongst others to hand deliver presents and celebrate the end of 2024 - just in time for winter break.
In addition to providing a gift for every student and teacher in the School District of Philadelphia (1.1 million gifted items) in a partnership with The Fund for the School District of Philadelphia, the players gave high fives, led sing-alongs, visited with classrooms, and hand-delivered gifts to students including the
Junior ROTC and Honor Roll students at Ben
Franklin High School. The event began at
Eliza B. Kirkbride continued on to Ben Franklin, and ended at Alliance for Progress Charter School with an unforgettable day filled with fun and the joy of the holiday season. The
Philly Specials have also released a brand new track, "Run Rudolph Run," featuring Jon Bon Jovi.
The students and teachers were delighted to share in the joy of the season and recognize the culmination of their hard work and dedication with some of the most recognizable NFL Eagles, all of the big four Philadelphia mascots (Swoop, The Phanatic, Gritty, Franklin), Paw Patrol's Chase,
Eagles security Big Dom, honorary
Eagles fan, comedian Pete Davidson, Wallo & Gillie Da King and the Operation Snowball global partners. Joining The
Philly Specials were Governor Josh Shapiro, PA Speaker of the House
Joanna McClinton, The School District of Philadelphia's Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr., Ed. D., President and CEO of The Fund For The School District of Philadelphia, Kathryn Epps, and representatives from the global retailers, toy companies and nonprofits who partnered with The
Philly Specials to help bring Operation Snowball to life.
With the release of their third and final holiday album, A Philly Special Christmas Party (Vera Y Records), reaching #1 on Billboard's Holiday Charts and #16 on Billboard's Top 200, the players decided to do something that has never been done before for Philly's public school students and truly embrace the spirit and magic of the season. All proceeds from album sales support the citywide initiative as well as direct donations to The Fund for The School District of Philadelphia.
The initial idea for Operation Snowball was sparked by Jason Kelce wanting to match the indomitable spirit of the City of Philadelphia by doing something BIG that would reach an unprecedented number of youth. When children's entertainment company Spin Master generously donated close to $1 million worth of toys to get the initiative (and snowball) rolling, Operation Snowball was born. Spin Master is best known for its innovation in toys and games, including award-winning brands like PAW Patrol™, Hatchimals™, and Rubik's Cube™.
In addition to Spin Master, The
Philly Specials teamed up with the following global partners, toy companies and nonprofits for Operation Snowball including: Just Play, Fanatics, Jazwares, QVC, Tarte Cosmetics, Toy Foundation, Amazon Wondery / Amazon Local Good, WildBrain, Five Below, Wawa, Shipmates and Zippy Shell.
"Santa Drives An Astrovan," the album's third single, has reached #1 on the iTunes Holiday Charts and is accompanied by a music video shot before a live audience at Lincoln Financial Field. The first two singles from A Philly Special Christmas Party include the iTunes holiday chart topping Kelce and
Stevie Nicks duet, "Maybe This Christmas," and the charting Jason, Travis, and
Boyz II Men collaboration, "It's Christmas Time (In Cleveland Heights)."
Music video for "Loud
Little Town," featuring Jason and Kylie Kelce, was released via YouTube the night before Thanksgiving.
A Philly Special Christmas Special raised over $3M and singles, "This Christmas," "All I Want for Christmas is You," "Fairytale of Philadelphia," and "Pretty Paper" have garnered over 10M streams across platforms. "Fairytale of Philadelphia" reached #1 on iTunes, 50,000 copies have been sold on vinyl and the stop motion special created by unPOP Animation, A Philly Special Christmas Special, has been viewed over 700,000 times with 10,000 live viewers tuning in to its premiere on Thanksgiving night. Its predecessor in 2022, A Philly Special Christmas, immediately sold out its limited pressing. The record reached four top ten spots on various Billboard
Music Charts including #1 on the Compilation Albums Chart. A Philly Special Christmas donated over $1M to local charities including Children's Crisis Treatment Center and fulfilled the wish lists of Philadelphia School District teachers via Donors Choose.
