ROSEVILLE, Minn. – When local teachers arrived to shop for their classrooms, they were met with much more than school supplies.

The Minnesota Vikings and Pepsi last week partnered with the Kids In Need Foundation, a nonprofit committed to creating equitable learning environments for teachers and students in under-resourced communities.

Monday through Friday, various Vikings and Pepsi groups volunteered at the Kids In Need headquarters. Staff members and leadership, Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders, Viktor the Viking, players and the Vikings Home Team (significant others of players and coaches) spent time helping teachers "shop" for everything from markers and pens to educational posters, workbooks and age-appropriate chapter books free of charge.

Tight end Nick Muse seemingly never stopped moving, helping his teachers efficiently move throughout the shopping space and then loading their items from a cart into their vehicle.

Muse connected early on with Mary, a teacher of 36 years who now is teaching alongside former students of hers.

"I like giving back," Muse said. "Obviously having fun with it, talking to teachers and learning their stories on why they do what they do. Teaching is a hard job."

Asked if he made things easy on his own teachers growing up, Muse chuckled before admitting he may not have always been the perfect student.

"My favorite class was P.E., recess and lunch. When those are your favorite classes, you saw the school counselor a couple times," he quipped. "I enjoyed school growing up … but you've gotta listen to your teachers."

Rashelle Oxborough, Kids In Need Senior Director of Government Affairs & Public Relations, noted that schools are eligible to utilize the foundation if 50 percent or more of student families fall in a specific income level. The program also helps teachers who often spend their own money on classroom resources.

"We are so excited to be partnering with the Vikings and Pepsi, because it's through support like this that we can have local educators come here for free and shop for essential school supplies," Oxborough said. "Which is a really big deal, especially right now during back-to-school season. Two out of three children show up without supplies to that first day of school, and teachers are on the front lines of that."

Over five days, the Vikings and Pepsi helped support more than 300 teachers and 8,000 students. A total of $180,000 worth of school supplies were distributed throughout the week, as well as 60 Supply A Teacher (SAT) Kits. Each kit includes supplies for an entire school's teachers, with an additional 10 kids for incoming teachers. These kits can impact up to 1,440 students.

Quarterback Sam Darnold especially was impacted by the event, as his mom Chris recently retired after a 27-year teaching career. He joined a few different teachers, pushing their carts through the aisles and learning more about their experiences.

Darnold also had a couple of surprises up his sleeve.

One teacher mentioned she has yet to attend a Vikings game at U.S. Bank Stadium, to which Darnold responded, "Would you like to go?"

"Yes…" She said, a little confused.

"How about this Sunday? At 12 o'clock?" Darnold returned.

At this point, the teacher was cautiously optimistic.

"Sure!"

Smiling, Darnold reached below the cart and revealed a large mock ticket.

"Well, congrats! You and one other lucky person will be at our game against the 49ers!"

Darnold wasn't the only one who had an opportunity to surprise deserving teachers with tickets to the Week 2 matchup. He and Muse were joined by teammates Aaron Jones, Sr., Harrison Phillips, Ty Chandler, Dalton Risner, Andrew DePaola (along with his two older children) and Walter Rouse, and they gifted multiple teachers with tickets.

Jones especially connected with Joseph and Jill Bue, a vice principal and teacher, respectively, of a local middle school.

The Vikings running back noticed Joseph's shirt promoted AVID, an educational program Jones was a part of during his own middle school years.

"It was pretty cool getting to learn about their school, their community – they're very diverse," Jones said. "The vice principal had an AVID shirt on … so I made that connection, got to talk with them about it, and then they were very complimentary of our game [against the Giants]. I just popped 'em with a question – 'Hey, would you like to go to a football game?'

"They kind of just looked at me like, 'Of course,' " Jones added, laughing. "We took a picture with the ticket, and I don't think the wife quite knew at that point. She goes, 'Hold on, we got tickets to the game?' I'm like, 'Yes, ma'am.' She was so happy. I just told them, 'Hey, it looks like I'll be seeing you guys this weekend.' "

Pepsi Senior Marketing Manager Dawnette Snyder was all smiles at the event, taking in the energy in the room and the teachers' excitement.

"We've been partners with the Vikings for a long time, and we love the opportunity to partner with players, staff and our employees in supporting a community-first initiative," Snyder said. "This school program was a really great opportunity to bring them all together.

"For teachers, parents and students in the community to see Vikings players involved really is a great aspect beyond the game," Snyder added.

Muse reiterated the importance of getting away from the football field to make a difference in the Twin Cities.

"No one sees you when you're under your helmet, but when you can be out here showing you're a human being, too, you enjoy doing the same things they do, [it's special]," Muse said.