Salvation Army Sees Huge Spike In Donations After Ezekiel Elliott Kettle Celebration

Ezekiel Elliott helped both the Cowboys AND the needy with his touchdown last Sunday ... the Salvation Army tells TMZ Sports it saw a significant spike in donations following the star's trip to an end zone kettle.

If you missed it ... Elliott hopped into a Salvation Army red bucket at AT&T Stadium after scoring in the fourth quarter of the Cowboys' blowout win over the Colts in Dallas last weekend.

He pretended to be a jack-in-the-box -- while quarterback Dak Prescott wound him up. It was all hilarious -- and, according to Salvation Army officials, hugely beneficial as well.

The org. tells us, "after Ezekiel Elliott leaped into [the kettle] on Sunday night's game against the Indianapolis Colts, the number of donors to the Salvation Army that day doubled compared with the game last year."

They added, "We love it when players jump in the giant red kettle after scoring a touchdown because it does have an impact."

In fact, the org. tells us the amount of $21 donations -- an ode to Elliott's jersey number -- have skyrocketed as well.

Elliott himself actually contributed to the cause as well in the days following the score -- he donated a $50,000 check to the Salvation Army of North Texas on Wednesday. The money, the org. said, will help children, seniors and adults with special needs receive gifts during this holiday season.

Of course, jumping into the kettle isn't entirely a new thing for the Cowboys. In Elliott's rookie year in 2016, he started it all by hopping into the kettle after a score against the Buccaneers.

On Thanksgiving this year, Dallas tight ends had a similar party at the prop.