Alex & Alyssa Highsmith on Fighting Food Insecurity, Faith & Building a Foundation Together
Alex Highsmith and his wife Alyssa join The Giving Game for a rare joint interview — one where host Sophie Whitesell openly admits she knows nothing about Alex's NFL career and everything about the couple's foundation. That's exactly the point of this conversation. Alex and Alyssa pull back the curtain on what it actually takes to run the Alex Highsmith Family Foundation, debunking the assumption that athletes just write checks and let a team handle the rest. Both are hands-on every week — Alex on Tuesday meetings between football commitments, Alyssa deep in the sponsorship and operations side as, in Alex's words, "the backbone of the foundation." The headline announcement is Alex's Locker Room, a new initiative launching in partner high schools in Pittsburgh and Wilmington, NC, aimed at tackling food insecurity among student athletes — providing meals, hydration, hygiene essentials, and nutrition education for kids who qualify for free and reduced lunch. Alyssa, a certified nutritionist and nurse, explains why fueling young athletes properly is about more than food access — it's about education they'll carry for life. The couple also opens up about their foundation's back-to-school drives, the Dancing Grandma Scholarship (named for Alex's late grandmother, who went viral dancing when he was drafted), the Run for Colorado Scholarship honoring a high school classmate lost to violence, their faith, how they met and got engaged, and what it's really like navigating NFL life as a couple who insists on staying grounded and involved. If this conversation moved you, you can support the Alex Highsmith Family Foundation using the link below. What We Cover (00:52) The biggest misconception about running an athlete-led nonprofit (02:41) Announcing Alex's Locker Room — fighting food insecurity in partner high schools (04:59) Alyssa's background as a certified nutritionist and nurse (07:11) Getting to know the Highsmiths: partner-interview questions about each other (11:41) What Alyssa does behind the scenes that makes the foundation possible (14:22) The foundation pillar that feels most "Alyssa" (14:52) The back-to-school bash story that stuck with Alyssa (16:33) The Dancing Grandma Scholarship and honoring Alex's grandmother (19:26) Why empathy for kids who lack resources matters to the Highsmiths (20:41) Walter Payton Man of the Year nomination vs. winning a Super Bowl (24:03) Alex on identity beyond football and his faith (31:55) How Alex proposed to Alyssa (34:01) What sets Alyssa apart as an NFL wife who still works full-time (35:05) Creating a safe space for NFL wives navigating trades, moves, and isolation (36:47) Trusting people's intentions at a public level (38:33) Biggest wins and biggest challenges facing the foundation today (40:23) Alex's dream partnership: Dick's Sporting Goods (45:15) If given $100 million: Alex's vision for a foundation facility and school (49:15) Where to donate and support the Alex Highsmith Family Foundation Support the Alex Highsmith Family Foundation 👉 Website: AlexHighsmithFamilyFoundation.org 👉 Instagram & Facebook: linked in bio Can't give financially? Subscribe to the foundation's newsletter, follow along with Alex's "Fuel Up Fridays," and share their mission — community support matters as much as dollars.
