EAGAN, Minn. — Mark Jacobson surveyed his surroundings and struggled to find the words.

Last Tuesday, a handful of Vikings players spent their day off greatly impacting a different game: life. They gathered at TCO Stadium to surprise about 2,000 youth on hand for the fourth-annual Tradehome Shoes event that is designed to help gear up kids from adoption and foster agencies for the school year.

The undertaking is the evolution of an idea spurred by Jacobson's daughter, Kaia, when she was a fourth-grader at Ellsworth Elementary. Kaia spotted classmates wearing worn-out sneakers, some with their toes poking through the tops, and relayed concern to her dad, a pro in the shoe business.

A bake sale progressed into an initiative at Tradehome that allocates $1 for every item sold toward purchasing shoes and donating them locally. In partnership with the Vikings, the cause has exploded.

Jacobson got emotional as he studied the scene, kids blanketing the space with warmth and happiness.

"It makes you tear up," the Tradehome Vice President of Store Personnel said. "It feels good to see how it grows and evolves and becomes a living, breathing [entity]. It's so much more than one person and one person's idea. And then even to think about that fourth-grade class and how each one of them gained some knowledge and now they are all going to go out there and possibly doing different things in their community. It's just unbelievable – a pinch-yourself moment. I don't know, it's hard to describe."

At this year's event, straight from tables containing endless rows of shoe boxes piled over six-feet high, a little more than 2,000 pairs were distributed, along with bundles of socks and free meals for participants.

"The cool part of it is to be able to see each year how it's grown and evolved," Jacobson said, stepping away from greeting a flock of youth to reflect on the event. "We get a little more efficient each year, but it's how it's grown inside of the community – the first year had like 300 kids and then it went to like 700 or 800 kids and last year 1,600 kids, and this year there's nearly 2,000. I'd say it's one of my favorite days if not my favorite day of the year. I mean, just look around. You've got all these kids being able to get new shoes and backpacks and socks, and to be able to walk on the Vikings field, throw a football around and to be able to have a good meal. You mix all of it together, and how can it get any better than that?"

That sentiment rings true from the players' perspectives.

"This is what it's all about, if I'm being honest," Vikings running back Zavier Scott expressed.

"I just love that the people are coming here, they're enjoying it, they're smiling, they're having a good time, and it's just, there's purpose behind all the stuff that happens on the field. There's people that are being blessed, and there's a lot of special people here. I can feel the love, and I'd like to give it back."

Making his first appearance at the event, Scott said his favorite parts were talking to the youth, asking their names, reciprocating their love and showing them that people care, genuinely, for their well-being.

Veteran long snapper Andrew DePaola and second-year outside linebacker Dallas Turner agreed. DePaola called the turnout in its fourth year "jaw-dropping"; Turner was honored to do "the Lord's work."

"I love this side of [being a professional athlete]," said DePaola, who has attended the event twice before. "Just to use our platform to help give back, help kids who may need it a little more than some other kids. But anytime I can go out in the community to show my face, get to talk with fans, get to talk with people and get to connect with them on a personal level; that's what really means the most to me."

Looking at the crowd, Turner added: "It'd be wrong if we don't give back to the community whenever we can. You see a lot of smiles on a lot of people's faces, kids and adults, so it's definitely a good thing."

For more than an hour under the late-summer sun, DePaola, Scott, Turner, defensive lineman Levi Drake Rodriguez, tackle Walter Rouse and running back Xazavian Valladay made the days of young people of all ages. They held babies, signed autographs, posed for photos and fitted brand new shoes like they were seasoned attendants at a shoe store, not celebrity football players making a cameo.

Exchanges on the turf ranged from wholesome to hilarious.

One teenage girl projected her voice to capture Turner's attention: "Dallas Turner, will you please take a photo with me?" A little boy bravely told Scott he "liked soccer more than football," which drew a laugh.

"All of these kids, they're the future of America, so if we can provide them with something where they can feel good about themselves and they can go to school and they can have a new pair of shoes and the self-confidence that gives them, I'll tell you what, it's awesome," Jacobson said, noting the hardship of many of the youth. "They've had a lot of challenges in their life.

"They've been through different things, through foster care and adoption, and nobody knows what their background is like, but I guarantee you they've faced adversity in their life," he continued. "And if we can give them a night where they can get away from it all, where they can just have a night where they can truly be seen, be heard, feel important and have a [place] where they can just have fun and let their guard down and realize that they are special … to me it's the faces of the kids [that stick with me] and it's seeing the kids running around out on the field. Not that long ago, I just took a look around and you have to kind of like pinch yourself at some point in time and go, 'It's more than pretty cool.' "

The cheerfulness extended to both sides of the try-on chairs occupied by young people, players and 85 assistant managers from Tradehome who flew in from across the country and were surprised at a company meeting the night before with the news that they were invited to help lead the huge giveback.

"They had no idea," Jacobson recalled. "The funny thing is they had a long day and a lot of meetings and different things and the excitement that entered that room when the announcement was made – the cheering, it was just over the top, and you could just tell that they were no longer tired.

"It's cool because that's what we've tried to do. In this world, yes, one person can make an impact, but when that spreads, it can spread throughout the organization and throughout the communities and throughout the places just like the Minnesota Vikings," Jacobson continued. "Next thing you know, you've got more and more people out there passing it on … helping people out. And the world needs a whole bunch more of that. It really does. The world needs a lot more positivity and a lot less negativity."