Naperville woman, an NFL mom, conducts a winning food drive

Alicia McCareins of Naperville is so petite it's hard to imagine that she is the mother of a National Football League player.

But when she throws her massive positive energy into tackling a project, watch out.

McCareins was one of 34 mothers of NFL players who partnered with Campbell's Soup Company to raise awareness of hunger, and collect donations for food banks across the nation.

With some help from her famous son Justin, a 1997 graduate of Naperville North High School who is a wide receiver for the Tennessee Titans, she raised 86,852 pounds of food on behalf of the Northern Illinois Food Bank in St. Charles.

"It started during the summer as friendly competition with other NFL moms," McCareins said. "But by mid-October, when I saw the need, it became less about a trip to the Super Bowl, and more of me thinking, 'I'm going to see what I can do.'"

McCareins heard about the project when Campbell's made a presentation at a July conference of the NFL mothers organization.

The moms rose to the challenge and collected a total of over 550,000 pounds of food.

As one of the top three, McCareins won a trip to Tampa for the week leading up to Sunday's Super Bowl. She and the mothers who came in first and second will be honored in Tampa.

Working with staff from the Northern Illinois Food Bank, McCareins established 75 drop-off sites within the 13 counties that the Food Bank services. She focused on Naperville and also held drives during basketball games at Northern Illinois University, Justin's alma mater.

"When I got up in the morning, I planned to put in a few hours everyday," McCareins said. "I worked with banks, churches, restaurants and cleaners. We had a week long drive at Naperville North and I got help from the football coaches there. I would get there about 6:30 in the morning."

Justin contributed by making a video and donating signed jerseys and footballs for raffle prizes. Fans who attended the NIU games and brought at least three cans of Campbell's soup were entered in a raffle. The top winner will have dinner with Justin after the Super Bowl.

Shannon Thompson, promotions manager for the Northern Illinois Food Bank, said she was fortunate to be able to work with McCareins.

"Working with Alicia has opened some doors for us, she helped create hunger awareness at a height that we didn't anticipate," Thompson said. "She doesn't do anything half way. She has an enthusiasm that's contagious."

Education is important in the McCareins family, which also includes sons Jay, who played for a year with the NFL's Arizona Cardinals, and John. Both Jay and John are financial advisers.

McCareins is a research consultant who has a law degree and a doctorate in psychology. Her husband John is an investment counselor. They insisted that Justin and Jay finish college before entering the NFL draft.

McCareins is very proud of all three of her sons, and says that Justin is the most compassionate of the three.

"Justin has 8 years in the NFL, and that's a blessing and a wonderful thing," she said. "And he used his name to help this drive."