SI LifeStyle

Christen Harper Talks Giving Back to Detroit During the Holidays

The model and her partner teamed up to help out a local Toys for Tots Drive.

Cara O’Bleness

Christen Harper

Christen Harper.

California native Christen Harper is in Michigan for the winter, and giving back while she’s at it. The SI Swimsuit model, who swaps coasts for the NFL season, has teamed up with Detroit’s local Help Me Hank Toys for Tots Drive with Kroger to do some good this holiday season.

Harper, who is engaged to Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff, spoke to WDIV Local 4 about participating in the charitable event, which kicked off at a local grocery store on Friday morning. She and Goff donated hundreds of footballs for children in need for the occasion.

“I think just being a part of the city, like, you just want to give back, and you want to just feel like you’re making a difference even in a tiny small way,” Harper said.

She added that she hand pumped each and every football the couple donated, as they arrived to her uninflated. Harper and Goff, also a California native, are beloved by the local community and see this as an opportunity to give back to a city that has fully embraced them.

“We’re really blessed with our life,” Harper stated through tears. “... And we know that, and when we see kids that just need a little bit extra joy just through the holiday season, even if we could just do one little thing to help bring that joy to them, it just is everything.”

Goff added that giving back to Detroit through charitable efforts like the Toys for Tots Drive has been “a lot of fun and rewarding.”

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Cara O’Bleness

CARA O’BLENESS

Cara is a trending news writer/editor for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. A passionate writer and editor with more than 10 years of experience in print and online media, she loves storytelling and believes that words have the power to change the world. Prior to joining the team, Cara worked as a writer and editor across a number of content verticals, including food, lifestyle, health and wellness, and small business and entrepreneurship. In her free time, Cara loves reading, spending time with her family and making her way through Michigan’s many microbreweries. She is a graduate of Michigan State University's School of Journalism.