Bills Mafia donates $16,000 to Tua Foundation after concussion

BUFFALO, NY (WIVB) — The Bills Mafia is known for their passionate support of the Buffalo Bills, but the group goes beyond just supporting their own team.

They have repeatedly raised large sums of money for various causes, with the Tua Foundation being the most recent foundation to donate at least $16,000.

“If I was in the shoes of the Dolphins fans and put myself in that position, I would have been instantly sickened,” said Kristen Kimmick, founder of Bills Mafia Babes.

What started as Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa trying to grab a first down ended with him colliding head-first into the body of Bills safety Damar Hamlin. The impact left Tagovailoa sidelined for several minutes. The Dolphins later confirmed he suffered a concussion, his third since 2022.

“It wasn’t that hard of a hit, but I think it was just scary on so many levels because it was Damar that he hit in the chest,” Kimmick said. “He hit his head right in, which we know he has massive concussions.”

Bills Mafia Babes was founded over eight years ago to provide a safe space for female Bills fans to talk football.

“When I first started, I just threw 25 to 50 women into a group that I knew from bigger mafia platforms or from all the girls that I tailgat with,” Kimmick said. “I threw them all in, called it the Bills Mafia Babes and said ‘let’s go.'”

The group was asked on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, what the Tua Foundation was. They provided a link and the donations started pouring in.

Now, the Facebook group has nearly 40,000 members. Kimmick said she saw so many women trying to raise money for different causes within the group, and that was when she decided to become a nonprofit.

“Our mission there is that we work with or in honor of a specific player each month and if a player has a cause that they’re really passionate about, then we raise money, donate and do raffles as much as we can to raise money for them for those 30 days,” Kimmick said.

Bills fans first began donating to charities in 2017 after Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton led Cincinnati to a win over the Ravens, ending the Bills’ 17-year playoff drought.

The Mafia thanked Dalton by donating more than $400,000 to his foundation. They also helped organizations supported by kicker Tyler Bass and Hamlin.

Kimmick said that as a Bills fan, the most important thing is to help others.

“It’s not breaking tables, it’s not like you’re getting drunk every Sunday,” Kimmick said. “I think it’s really about everyone coming together to be nice, because honestly, that’s the foundation of Buffalo.”

While the Dolphins are technically a rival team, Gimmick says that goes away once the athletes are off the field.

“There’s nothing better than being able to help people who sometimes can’t help themselves. It’s just a win-win,” Kimmick said.

This month, Bills Mafia Babes were inspired by Keon Coleman wearing his bright yellow jacket. They are now raising money, along with new and lightly used winter clothing and jackets to support Friends of Night People.

A list of drop off locations can be found on the Bills Mafia Babes Facebook page.