Hoodie power: Josh Allen and Bills Mafia help raise $100,000 for Firebaugh High
Talk about a local high school fundraiser gone wild.
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen helped his high school alma mater generate $100,000 in just one week by simply wearing a throwback Firebaugh High hoodie.
The Bills held a one-week sale of the sweater that Allen was photographed wearing prior to going to the locker room before a Week 4 game against the Houston Texans.
And the demand by fans was so strong to buy a similar hoodie that more than $90,000 was raised for Firebaugh.
But Allen’s help wasn’t quite done as he donated a few thousand dollars more to even out Firebaugh’s proceeds to $100,000.
“I’ve literally watched Josh grow up,” Firebaugh High principal Anthony Catalan said. “He’s always been the same kid and he always comes back to Firebaugh and gives the shout-outs about how he was raised here and the entire community being a part of who he is.
“That … you can’t put that into words. It’s probably never going to happen again in our lives, and it’s amazing. It makes you root so much more for him.”
Allen, 25, has emerged as one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL this season, while leading the Bills (4-1) to the top of the AFC East standings.
The photo of Allen wearing the hoodie while strolling into the locker room became such a frenzy on social media the Bills fans, also known as the Bills Mafia, inquired how to find the hoodie for themselves.
But Firebaugh High, roughly 42 miles west of Fresno, wasn’t producing the hoodie anymore.
So the high school teamed up with ADPRO Sports to hold a limited sale of the throwback hoodies for $40 and $20 going to Firebaugh.
Within the first 24 hours, 2,500 hoodies were sold. And as the sale closed Tuesday night, more than 4,600 had been purchased.
“From Day One, you have to pinch yourself and ask yourself if it’s a dream,” Catalan said of Allen playing in the NFL. “And the dream just keeps getting better and better as the years have gone by as the support has grown and the pride has grown. There are no words to describe how much pride there is.”
No word yet how Firebaugh plans to use the money for the hoodie sales.
Catalan said Firebaugh is grateful of the generosity shown by the Bills Mafia and, of course, Allen.
“The Bills told us, ‘We don’t really want anything from this. It’s all for you.’ ” Catalan said. “This whole thing is just mind-boggling.
“It’s a big difference if we raise $2,000 off these sales versus $200,000. So it’s really hard to say what we’re going to use it for.”
This story was originally published October 13, 2021 at 9:16 PM.