Four of North Texas' most famous sports figures are joining forces, hoping to get your attention to help sick kids in the community and their families. Dirk Nowitzki, Troy Aikman, Jordan Spieth and Clayton Kershaw each sat down with their wives to shoot PSA's that will shine the spotlight on the need to raise funding for Children's Health.
Dallas Maverick's legend, Dirk Nowitzki has been visiting sick children for a decade. He sat down to talk about why he and his wife, Jessica love Children's Health so much.
"I come here and I try to spread joy to these families but it's tough at times, it's draining when I leave at the end of the night. I feel very sad for some of these families and what they're going through," he said.
Brent Christopher, President of the Children's Medical Center Foundation says many people don't know that DFW's only pediatric level one trauma center is a not-for-profit and is outdated.
"This ER was built in 1967. I think the population of Dallas in the 1960s was 500,000. We have a few million more than that now so," Christopher said.
Today the ER is one of the busiest pediatric ER's in the country with 122,000 yearly visits. As many as 400 children are seen in one day during the winter months. A new facility, Christopher said, will allow Children's Health to serve more children, enhance operational efficiencies, and increase patient and family satisfaction.
For Dirk, who on the night of his final game with the Mavericks teared up only when videos of his hospital visits played, this is personal.
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"What a great night it was for me but that was the piece that got me emotional just because it's been such a great relationship."
The ER re-imagination and renovation will cost approximately $56,000,000. Children's Medical Center Foundation is seeking visionary philanthropic partners to make this new space a reality by contributing toward a fundraising goal of $30,000,000.
