Long snapper Taybor Pepper is one of 34 San Francisco 49ers participating in the NFL's annual My Cause My Cleats initiative taking place in Week 14. This 2024 league-wide campaign is made up of two game weekends in which players across the league can showcase their support to personal causes and raise awareness for those causes by way of customized cleats.
On Sunday, San Francisco's special teamer will be wearing light blue, cloud-pattern cleats dedicated to Ele's Place, a center for grieving children and teens, located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Saline, Michigan-native first became involved with Ele's Place because of his wife Haley Pepper's longstanding connection with the organization.
"My wife has worked with them for quite some time, since she was in college," Pepper said. "It's pretty near and dear to our hearts because my wife lost her dad when she was four.
"There weren't a lot of resources like Ele's Place provides, so it's very important to our family. And, being around their facilities, it's super important for the community."
The Pepper family's championing of Ele's Place goes back several years and extends far beyond the league's My Cause My Cleats campaign. The Peppers have donated to Ele's Place, volunteered their time and participated in the organization's charity walks.
"(Ele's Place) is easy to fall in love with," Pepper said. "It not only touches children who have lost a parent or a loved one but also parents who have lost a child as well."
In 2024, the family even recruited a new supporter of Ele's Place, second-year kicker and fellow Michigander Jake Moody.
"This year, myself and Jake Moody actually donated some kicking and long snapping lessons to be auctioned off which raised some money for them," Taybor noted. "Any way that we can help, we love being involved with Ele's Place."
Because of his closeness with Ele's Place, Pepper has had the opportunity to see and hear about all the good the center has provided to the children, teens and parents it serves.
"A lot of the families at the fundraiser this summer went up and spoke at the big fundraiser dinner," Pepper said. "They talked about their stories and how it's impacted them. Also, the family that started it (did so) because they lost their young one."
The Pepper family's commitment to Ele's Place has not gone unnoticed, and their work has been important in raising awareness for the center and its mission.
"Ele's Place is grateful to Taybor Pepper, and his entire family, for the support they provide to Ele's Place," Ele's Place fundraising and branch director Kate Powers said. "... The mission of our work is close to Taybor's heart, and that is exceptionally apparent in the level of commitment that he has to our organization, not just today for the duration of this game but every day of the year.
"From volunteer efforts and participation at our events to just increasing awareness of the needs of grieving children and teens, Taybor wears his love for Ele's Place on more than his cleats."
