Advertisement

Get in gear: Alex Smith, wife donate dozens of Chiefs items to thrift store

If you’re a Kansas City Chiefs fan that lives near Kansas City – or if you’re raring to go on a road trip – you can get Chiefs gear, some worn by Alex Smith on the sidelines, and help a local charity at the same time.

‘Bag loads’ of gear

On Thursday, Smith’s wife, Elizabeth, announced on Twitter that the couple had sent “bag loads” of Chiefs gear to Claudia’s Closet, a boutique thrift store, in Lee’s Summit, Mo. The items, Elizabeth Smith wrote, include new and gently-used apparel, including some game-worn sideline apparel.

Smith spent five years with Kansas City before being traded to Washington during Super Bowl week, so it’s not hard to imagine how much stuff Smith accumulated in that time.

He’s in new gear, you can get his old gear: Alex Smith and his wife have donated dozens of Kansas City Chiefs items to a Kansas City-area thrift store, and sales will benefit a local non-profit. (AP)
He’s in new gear, you can get his old gear: Alex Smith and his wife have donated dozens of Kansas City Chiefs items to a Kansas City-area thrift store, and sales will benefit a local non-profit. (AP)

Among the items: t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, and pants with the Chiefs logo, other collectibles, and a bedazzled jersey custom made for Elizabeth that says “Mrs. Smith” on the back.

The items will go on sale beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Proceeds will help foster children

Claudia’s Closet is owned by Summer Youngkin; Elizabeth Smith was good friends with Youngkin’s husband growing up in Northern California. When Alex Smith was traded to Kansas City in 2013, the friends reconnected, and their families became close.

[Yahoo Fantasy Football leagues are open: Sign up now for free]

When the Smiths offered to donate gear to Youngkin’s shop, which selects a different local charity each month to donate its proceeds to, Youngkin wanted to pick a non-profit that Alex would find meaningful.

So she chose Cornerstones of Care, a behavioral health group, and specifically Cornerstones’ Youth Educational Success program, which helps foster children further their education.

Smith’s personal foundation helps foster teens transition to adulthood.

“This was a way for him to continue his legacy of what he’s doing in Kansas City,” Youngkin told the Washington Post. “He’s a very humble guy. He’s very generous and he’s got a big heart, and I want people to know that. It’s kind of hard when someone’s only known for their on-the-field stuff.”

More from Yahoo NFL Sports:
One month in, how are the first-round quarterbacks doing?
Seahawks’ Russell Wilson, wife Ciara want to help bring Major League Baseball to Portland
Paylor: NFL coaches rallying to keep kickoffs in the game