(The Dallas Examiner) – As the Dallas Cowboys gear up for another NFL season, the team isn’t just focused on capturing the elusive Super Bowl championship; they’re also deeply committed to making a significant impact off the field.
Beyond the gridiron, the team devotes itself to serving and uplifting the communities that support them through a myriad of impactful charitable programs. From tackling societal issues to spreading hope and positivity, their legacy extends far beyond touchdowns and victories.
“The Dallas Cowboys feel a very strong responsibility to take the visibility, energy and celebrity of the world’s most prominent sports franchise and channel those dynamic forces towards the bigger purpose of making a difference in the community,” said Emily Cruz Robbins, senior director of Community Relations and Alumni Affairs for the Cowboys. “Utilizing our visibility, creates unique and exciting awareness opportunities for nonprofit organizations that the Cowboys partner with.
Recently, the league launched Inspire Change, a league-wide NFL initiative aimed at reducing barriers to opportunity, particularly in communities of color, and showcasing how the NFL family is working together to create positive change.
Participants include current and former players, teams, office and ownership personnel.
The Dallas Cowboys awarded three local nonprofits grants of $20,500 each in their work to fight poverty and give those coming out of the prison system a second chance to get back on their feet. The funds will go to support programming that fosters mentorship and education, economic advancement, community-police relations and criminal justice reform, according to the Cowboys organization.
Dallas Cowboys Executive Vice President and Chief Brand Officer Charlotte Jones presented the grants to organizations such as the Salvation Army North Texas, Cafe Momentum and Unlocking Doors, earlier this year as the Cowboy’s season was coming to an end.
“Our selection of Cafe Momentum was made because of the dedicated work, growth, and impact that Chad Houser and his team is making to transform the lives of justice-involved youth across the country by providing education, mentorship, life-skills, culinary job training, internships and wage-earning employment,” Robbins said. “Chad has created a model that has proven to scale nationally to impact youth beyond the Dallas-Fort Worth area.”
Cafe Momentum is a nationally recognized restaurant and professional training facility with locations in Dallas, Nashville and Pittsburgh that creates holistic, individualized plans for young people to begin addressing the issues they’ve confronted throughout their lives. Founded by restaurateur and Chef Chad Houser, Cafe Momentum aims to transform the lives of justice involved youth across the country by providing education, mentorship, life-skills, culinary job training, internships and wage-earning employment in order to break the cycle of incarceration and violence faced by many of our nation’s youth according to its mission statement on its website.
After receiving the grant, Laura Beth Lopez, senior manager of events and marketing for Cafe Momentum thanked the Cowboys ball club.
“It is an honor to be supported by a Dallas institution like the Dallas Cowboys. Their support of our program is a message to our interns that they are seen, supported and deserving of every opportunity that is being given to them,” Lopez said. “Cafe Momentum is a testament to the transformative power of compassion, mentorship, opportunity and culinary excellence. For nearly a decade, we have been dedicated to empowering youth through culinary training, wraparound services and holistic support. Through our Cafe Momentum Program and internship model, we are providing a model for a new approach to youth empowerment, one that prioritizes skill-building, mentorship and community support.”
Lopez said the grant will be used to help build a strong internship program.
“Central to our mission is the belief in second chances and the power of redemption. Through our work with young people who have been involved with the justice system, we are challenging traditional notions of punishment and rehabilitation. Cafe Momentum is a platform for sharing our approach to justice reform, advocating for alternatives to incarceration and promoting a more compassionate and effective system.” Lopez said.
Unlocking Doors is also known for giving second chances and providing vital resources.
“Unlocking Doors was selected because we believe in the work that Christina Melton Crain is doing to reduce crime in the State of Texas by helping individuals transition back into society with the support and resources needed to create a sustainable future for themselves. The collaborative efforts of Unlocking Doors is unique and crucial to the opportunity and success that Christina and her team create,” Robbins stated.
Founded in 2010, Unlocking Doors is a statewide reentry brokerage network that is committed to reducing crime through coordinated collaboration, partnership, public awareness, reporting of evidence-based data and predictive trends, education and training. Their program facilitates a transition into society for all individuals with criminal backgrounds whether coming directly from incarceration or already residing within the community (both supervised and unsupervised). By pulling together resources, organizations, and programs into one coordinated effort, Unlocking Doors is helping reduce crime by guiding those with criminal backgrounds to a future of self-sufficiency while addressing the ever-escalating fiscal impact to the state of Texas according to the mission statement on its website.
“The NFL’s Inspire Change platform works to create positive change in at-risk communities by focusing on education and mentorship, economic advancement, community-police relations and criminal justice reform,” said Robbins. “The initiative allows teams to look at their individual markets and see where advocacy for change can be most impactful. Here in North Texas, we activate Inspire Change across many different programs, but most apparent and long-standing is our work with The Salvation Army. For nearly 30 years, the Dallas Cowboys have supported the different social service programs driven by The Salvation Army which fall into the Inspire Change pillars.”
The Salvation Army of North Texas mission statement on its website states the organization strives to “Do the Most Good” for those most in need in our community.
The nonprofit works to address the realities of addiction, homelessness and poverty across Dallas, Tarrant, Ellis, Denton, Collin and Rockwall counties. Its work touches several Inspire Change pillars through their effort to help citizens overcome poverty, reverse homelessness, stop domestic violence, cure hunger, support veterans, empower youth, provide emergency family services and combat addiction.
The team, especially its partnership with The Salvation Army, has raised more than $3.56 billion through the nonprofits annual Red Kettle Campaign.
“Additionally, The Salvation Army is a beneficiary of the team’s game day 50/50 Raffle fundraiser, which has donated approximately $3.15 million to the charity since the program’s inception in 2016. Our players, coaches and employees donate their time and personal resources to The Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program each year and we have hosted several telethons and giving campaigns whenever disaster has struck an area that The Salvation Army aids. We also bring our corporate partners like Whataburger, Reliant, Albertsons, Tom Thumb, Nike, Wrangler and more to the table when working with The Salvation Army. The power of those introductions becomes multiplied to an immeasurable impact throughout the year.” Robbins said.
“While those dollars can be calculated, much of our community giving goes well beyond financial assistance and engages every member of the Dallas Cowboys family at some level in making a lasting impact, from players, coaches, ownership, employees and business partners, community outreach is a core value of the team which is integrated at every level. Over the course of the year, we donate our time and talents to assisting a variety of philanthropy efforts whose value is immeasurable. As an organization which has seen legendary success on the field, we feel the same need to use the visibility of the Star to make a difference in the lives of others, whether that be hosting youth football camps or serving meals to homeless families within all of our relationships.”