Jul 28, 2026

TQL, Sam Hubbard team up to give Cincinnati students winning start to school year

Former Bengals player joins TQL volunteers to fill 1,200 backpacks with back-to-school essentials

By Shannon Russell

Key points: 

• TQL and the Sam Hubbard Foundation have partnered since 2023 to support students through the Hubbard’s Cupboard program.
• Hubbard and TQL employees packed backpacks with school supplies, snacks and hygiene essentials for Greater Cincinnati students at a volunteer event.
• TQL provided a $25,000 matching grant to help expand Hubbard’s Cupboard and reach more schools.

A backpack can carry more than school supplies. For hundreds of Cincinnati-area students, it also carries encouragement from the people who packed it.

That message was at the heart of retired Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard’s return to Total Quality Logistics’ Cincinnati headquarters July 9. During TQL’s second annual Helpy Hour with the Sam Hubbard Foundation, Hubbard joined more than 100 TQL volunteers to pack backpacks with school supplies, healthy snacks and hygiene essentials for Cincinnati-area students.

Hubbard said the 1,200 backpacks will go to schools where 55% or more of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

“They go to the areas of greatest need,” Hubbard said.

A Cincinnati native and Ohio State football standout, Hubbard founded the Sam Hubbard Foundation to support students and families across Greater Cincinnati. Its signature program, Hubbard’s Cupboard, provides essential resources to 36 area schools and reaches more than 16,900 students.

Hubbard joined TQL volunteers in filling the bags with items for home and school: pencils, notebooks, earbuds, deodorant, body wash, toothbrushes, toothpaste, pretzels, instant macaroni, oatmeal and more.

Related: TQL Cares Volunteer Challenge helps nonprofits advance their missions  

At the event, TQL also presented Hubbard with a $25,000 matching grant to support Hubbard’s Cupboard and help the Sam Hubbard Foundation reach its goal of stocking 70 cupboards by 2030.

After assembling back-to-school kits, Hubbard signed autographs and posed for photos. He chatted with TQL’ers about his playing days, including the Bengals’ Super Bowl LVI appearance at the end of the 2021 season.

More: How Military Month highlights TQL’s year-round support for service members

The partnership between TQL and the Sam Hubbard Foundation reflects a shared commitment to supporting Cincinnati-area students and families in need. Through TQL Cares, the company’s giving and volunteer program, employees support causes that matter to them through volunteerism, donations and matching programs.

Since teaming up with Hubbard in 2023, the TQL Foundation has contributed thousands to support the Sam Hubbard Foundation’s mission. Hubbard called TQL “an unbelievable” company.

“They do so much good in the community. And to be partners with them and join them in that initiative – I’m thankful to be here and thankful for this partnership,” Hubbard said.

TQL has contributed more than $36.9 million to charitable causes since 2006. 

Want to do meaningful work with a company that shows up for its communities? Check out TQL’s job openings.