Well, that didn't take long. The ink was barely dry on the contract with the Cincinnati Bengals when Andy and Jordan Dalton set up a foundation to assist seriously ill and physically challenged children in Greater Cincinnati. Early in March, they brought it to Fort Worth with a successful fundraiser at Texas de Brazil.
"With all the donations we received not only at that event but leading up to that event, I think we actually raised over $100,000," Dalton says.
"To me, it's just outstanding," said TCU Coach Gary Patterson. "To me, it's just awesome. To be able to do that in two cities is really amazing." But Patterson is not surprised. "He was always somebody who was like that in college as far as helping people out. It's another example of doing the right things."
TCU's Dalton was drafted in the second round - the 35th pick overall - by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2011 draft. He started all 16 games that season. And while he may play in Cincinnati, he and Jordan call Fort Worth home.
"This is where we are in the off-season, and this is where we're going to eventually be when the time comes where I'm done playing," Dalton says. "We wanted to go ahead and start doing stuff here in Fort Worth just because we felt like we can make a big impact in this community, and there's a lot of people here who want to give back and a lot of people who want to support what we believe in."
The first beneficiary of the Fort Worth effort will be Cook Children's Medical Center. Specifically, the Daltons plan to make the medical center's infusion room a kinder and gentler place for the young patients. That's where children receive chemotherapy and other treatments while hooked up to machines.
"We're going to be able to provide them with iPads, computers, games, DVD players, different things so it's not like they're just sitting there," Dalton said. "They'll have these things to use while they're getting treatments to kind of keep their minds off what they are going through."
FYI
Andy & Jordan Dalton Foundation
The foundation's primary focus is to provide seriously ill and physically challenged children with daily support and life changing experiences.
2692 Madison Road, Ste. 148
Cincinnati, Ohio 45208
Contact is through the website: andydalton.org
