Behind every picture, there's a story and Jason Witten's wasn't just written on the field.
For years, the star tight end has been a shining star to local chapters of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. As a child, he became a member after his family left his abusive father and moved to Tennessee. He now shares a message of encouragement with kids like him, in need of strong role models.[[481121321,C,]]
"I believe in you enough to invest in your future and to know that you have the potential to be where I am one day,” said Ci'Andria Jefferson, director at the Oak Cliff branch of the Boys & Girls Club.
Through his SCORE Foundation, Witten helped fund a teen center at the Oak Cliff branch three years ago.
"It means the world to them. They are amazing kids,” Jefferson said.
The center is now a place for high school students to study, play and learn to become leaders. Along with pool and Foosball tables, there’s a podium to practice public speaking.[[481121411,C]]
It’s a team environment where teens can feel like they belong.
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“We have the round tables and the couches circled around the TV so we can get that family setting and that no one feels excluded,” Jefferson said.
Witten was hands on designing it all, right down to the Dallas Cowboys finishing touches. Pictures of him and the team line the wall and an area rug is made up of blue tiles straight from AT&T Stadium.
The veteran player even showed up to dedicate the room when it was unveiled in February 2015. Jefferson said he was so focused on the teens, they all forgot that cameras were there to capture the event.[[481121501,C]]
"He literally spent time with the kids. He sat and he ate with them. He took pictures with them,” she said.
"It's a pretty big deal. It shows me that he cares about us and cares about the whole Boys and Girls community and he wants us to be the best we can be," said 15-year-old member Dakarion Littles.
Jefferson said Witten's heart is what she'll appreciate most about his time in Dallas.
"The fact that they see him in this room and knowing that he actually came here to Oak Cliff to see them lets them know that anything is possible,” she said.
It's proving that even the biggest stars care enough to be playmakers off the field too.
Even if Witten decides to trade his helmet for the broadcast booth, the Boys and Girls Club organization believes he will continue to partner with local chapters, wherever that may be.
For now, he's still teaming up with Albertsons grocery stores to offer free weekend groceries to members in need. Teens from the Oak Cliff chapter also attend his pro football camp each year, free of charge.
