Hundreds of Seattle school kids get their Seahawks jerseys

Blue Friday is always special at Seattle’s Kimball Elementary School, but this week’s was the greatest ever. That’s because over 450 students each got their own Seahawks jersey Friday, thanks to the efforts of teacher Kevin Zelko and the generosity of a number of donors.

Zelko, who’s also a beer vendor at CenturyLink Field, started a campaign after the Saints game to help raise money to get jerseys for disadvantaged kids at the school.

“There’s always a bunch (of students) who have jerseys on, but there is always a crew that doesn’t,” Zelko told KIRO Radio’s Morning News.

He started talking to his friends, who said they’d also buy some for the kids. Then his mom chipped in, and when he finally posted about what he was doing on Facebook, “Someone said, ‘Why don’t you use GoFundMe.com?’ And then it really took off.”

The goal was a $1,000 and Zelko figured he’d be able to buy about 15 jerseys. But when word got out, his $400 turned into $5,000 overnight. The account was at $6,500 Thursday afternoon, but that all changed when the Ron and Don Show got wind of the movement.

Listener Greg Kero and his team at work, Ragnar Wealth, covered the cost of the remaining jerseys.

Greg said he believes everyone should have access to being a sports fan, something that’s becoming more and more expensive these days.

While many of the kids might never get to actually see a game in person, they can at least now be official members of the 12th Man.