Jarrett Allen gives his mom credit for volunteer work at recent charity event

Cavs center Jarrett Allen hosted his ninth annual Meals + Math Thanksgiving event at Giant Eagle in Cleveland.

His mom, Cheryl, was a big inspiration for the event.

"She used to make us go volunteer at food drives when I was younger," Allen recalled with a smile. "I used to feel like it was such a chore to load things into boxes and hand them out. Now looking back, understanding the importance of it, I’m glad she did."

In partnership with Open Doors Academy, the event provided 25 children from Breakthrough Schools’ Willard and Woodland Hills campuses with Thanksgiving groceries and lessons in budgeting.

"We’re here to go shopping but we have a little twist on it," Allen said as he addressed the kids. "We gotta have you guys budget."

Jarrett Allen’s 9th annual Meals + Math Thanksgiving event is underway!! He’s helping kids learn how to budget at the grocery store and stock up for Thanksgiving. Custom calculators, t-shirts and gear for the kids included 🥹 #cavs #letemknow pic.twitter.com/qS8z4BWDKg
— Gabriella Kreuz (@thesportsGab) November 20, 2025

The 6-foot-9 NBA All-Star also provided custom calculators, t-shirts and goodie bags to the children. They could be seen giggling and smiling with excitement as they put on the new gear and got ready to parade the store in search of their holiday ingredients.

"We’ve all been in their shoes, we know what it’s like to maybe want an extra side or a little something extra on Thanksgiving," Allen said about putting on the event. " And these kids deserve it just like anybody else."

The University of Texas at Austin product walked around accompanying the kids and helping them make sound choices with their shopping list. He mentioned that he was pleased to have more sponsorship and volunteers this year to enhance the process and allow everything to run smoothly.

"I'm just smiling with the kids," he said. They're learning, they have their calculators and pen and paper. I'm having a good time seeing them have a good time."

Allen launched the Meals + Math event during his rookie season with the Brooklyn Nets and has continued the tradition each year. He's just as consistent on the court.

Allen played in all 82 games for the Wine and Gold during the 2024-2025 NBA season. Although he won't accomplish that same feat his year after spending some time out with a fractured left ring finger, he is making opsitive contributions to the Cavs on offense, averaging 15.3 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 26 minutes while shooting 58.6 percent from the field.

The Cavaliers are back at Rocket Arena Friday night in an NBA Cup matchup, taking on the Indiana Pacers at 7:00 p.m. Indiana is without star point guard Tyrese Haliburton who is out the entire 2025-2026 season due to a torn achilles he sustained during Game 7 of the NBA Finals last year.