RICHFIELD, Minn. — U.S. Bank Stadium serves as a home for Vikings players on Sundays. Last Tuesday, some of those players served others by helping build a home.
Outside linebacker Danielle Hunter, safeties Camryn Bynum and Josh Metellus, tight end Irv Smith, Jr., and kicker Greg Joseph spent part of their off day contributing to a week-long build with Polaris for Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity.
"It's super cool being able to come out here with some of my teammates. Just being out here as part of the Minnesota Vikings and creating something special like building a home for a family," Smith said. "That's something that will impact their life, a lot of others in their life, and to be able to be a part of something like that is amazing."
Smith said he participated in a build when he was at the University of Alabama, but the experience was a first for Metellus and Bynum.
"I was telling Cam [Bynum] that in college I used to help people move into new houses, but I never built a new house," Metellus said. "I was excited to get out here, put some nails in and do some work."
Metellus added he grew up in a community that was given back to, so he knows the importance that this work has.
"I can tell you from personal experience how much having guys do something like this impacts a community and the kids in the community," Metellus said. "Like everybody says, the kids are the future, so as much as we can do to help one family out there build up a life comfortably in a house like this, that's one thing we can do to help this community."
Despite it being his first build through Habitat, Bynum said it was "for sure not going to be my last."
Bynum also did some work in the Philippines in June, participating in a feeding program and providing resources to families in need.
But on Tuesday, the second-year safety out of Cal was hammering nails alongside his teammates.
"I love building stuff. This is something I love to do and enjoy doing it back at home with my family," Bynum said. "I grew up doing this, but being able to do it for other people and knowing this is going to be somebody's home eventually, that's a big deal for me."
The City of Richfield sold the property the house is being built on to Twin Cities Habitat for just $1. The buyer of the house will be identified later this fall and will be invited to U.S. Bank Stadium for a Vikings game-day experience.
Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity President and CEO Chris Coleman said providing safe, affordable home ownership is crucial for the community and the families in it.
"We know that every time a family gets into a home that Habitat has built that they now own, it's a gamechanger for them," Coleman said. "Not just for the first generation or even the second generation, but for generations to come, because they build equity, they create stability and they create a platform on which that family can thrive."
Vice President of Polaris Slingshot Chris Sergeant said the organization that's partnered with the Vikings since 2015 is excited to expand that relationship to help Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity.
"We couldn't be more thrilled," Sergeant said. "Since our founding in Roseau, Minnesota, more than 65 years ago, we've always believed in giving back to the communities that we've been a part of. We like to call it 'Being geared for good,' and that sentiment runs deep throughout our employee organization."
Smith said it's important to provide a positive impact and influence to the community.
"That's what it's all about," he said. "Just trying to give hope and show that anything is possible; for the Vikings and for Habitat for Humanity to do something like this, it's awesome."
