HOUSTON – For Nico Collins, the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday warms his heart and gives him a perspective on the spirit of giving.
The Texans’ star wide receiver spent Friday night providing meals to roughly 300 families in need in partnership with the Salvation Army of Houston and Randall’s.
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“Man, it’s a blessing,” Collins told KPRC 2. “It’s always a blessing to give back to the communities because you just never know what families are going through. I’m grateful for the Salvation Army for giving me this opportunity to come out and bless families, to give out food and give so everybody can have a great Thanksgiving.
#Texans receiver Nico Collins @lbg_nico7 giving back to Houston families in need, at Thanksgiving meal distribution @SalArmyHouston @Randalls_Stores @KPRC2
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) November 22, 2025
'A blessing. This is my heart: to give back, provide meals to families. Happy Thanksgiving' #NFL @NFLPA @DrewJRosenhaus pic.twitter.com/H7jpnLKNel
“It’s my heart. I just love to give back to the community. It’s always something I’ve always wanted to do and always been doing my entire life. It’s not always about just me. I just always love to see people smile and their outcomes because everybody’s journey is different. It’s always been part of my journey.”
Collins personally handed out boxes of food, greeting families as he hefted the holiday meals into the backseat of their cars.
“I just want to be somebody’s blessing today and give them that meal that they’ve hopefully been wishing for,” Collins said. “So, that’s my goal today is to give back and hopefully just see all the smiles on everybody’s faces. It means a lot. Everybody’s obstacle is different. Everybody’s upbringing is different.
“A lot of people, they work hard, but just are not able to get that extra meal on the table. So, I just want to provide that meal for families. It just makes me feel special, man. Just to see their smiles and just seeing how much joy it brings them, it’s a blessing to be out here.”
Jeremy Walker, an area commander for the Salvation Army, was overjoyed to have Collins there to pitch in.
“We’ve got such a great community here in Houston, and we’re going into Thanksgiving, and unfortunately, there is a need,” Walker said. “When there’s a need, we always see people step up. And we’ve got one of those great Texans stepping up, and we’ve got Nico Collins, and we’ve got Randall’s and we’ve got the Salvation Army coming together to serve those that are in need and get them their Thanksgiving meal.
“It is a tradition. Everybody deserves a good warm meal, right? When there’s that need, the Salvation Army is here. We need help and people step up. Nico Collins is one of those.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com