{"id":372634,"date":"2025-11-11T23:44:23","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T23:44:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/372634\/"},"modified":"2025-11-11T23:44:23","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T23:44:23","slug":"how-d-fw-pro-sports-teams-are-setting-the-standard-for-civic-engagement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/372634\/","title":{"rendered":"How D-FW pro sports teams are \u2018setting the standard\u2019 for civic engagement"},"content":{"rendered":"

As United Way of Metropolitan Dallas marks its 100-year anniversary Saturday with an array of memorable events at Fair Park and the Cotton Bowl<\/a> \u2014 a food and wine festival, a VIP dinner for business and civic leaders, a can\u2019t-miss concert starring Janet Jackson and Blake Shelton \u2014 another notable element comes into focus:<\/p>\n

Seven D-FW professional sports franchises \u2014 the Cowboys<\/a>, Mavericks<\/a>, Rangers<\/a>, Stars<\/a>, Wings<\/a>, FC Dallas<\/a> and Dallas Trinity FC<\/a> \u2014 have championed the yearlong centennial celebration as part of their strong partnerships with the community service organization \u2014 a rarely seen alignment of so many teams in one region behind a single cause. <\/p>\n

\u201cOnly in Dallas does this kind of partnership happen,\u201d Jennifer Sampson, CEO and president of United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, told The Dallas Morning News. \u201cIt would be rare to find another city where 100% of the professional sports franchises are this invested. I think Dallas stands alone … We\u2019re setting the standard for what civic engagement through sports should look like nationwide here in Dallas. And it\u2019s inspiring \u2014 it\u2019s unifying.”<\/p>\n

Talk with Sampson, a veteran of nearly 25 years with the social change organization, and hear her enthusiasm, hear her rattle off a long list of philanthropic efforts by the teams over the years \u2014 be it high-ranking executives, athletes like Troy Aikman<\/a> and Rolando Blackman or even mascots taking part \u2014 which goes far beyond just signing checks. <\/p>\n

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Over the past year, the Centennial Volunteer Series alone included a bevy of events \u2014 all supercharged by the involvement of Dallas-area sports teams. <\/p>\n

\"Hall<\/p>\n

Hall of Fame Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman posed with Jennifer Sampson after it was announced that Aikman will lead the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas 2017-18 fundraising campaign. <\/p>\n

Tom Fox \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

The Stars and FC Dallas came out to the Perot Museum of Nature and Science<\/a> for a STEM fest; Cowboys chief brand officer Charlotte Jones took part in Reading Day; Dallas Trinity FC played a large role in \u201cStock the Schools\u201d; the Rangers were integral in a summer meals program; the Wings took part in a tree planting event; and the Mavericks were at the Dallas Zoo for a community program called \u201cJungle Bells.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, the Dallas-area pro teams are honorary host committee members and sponsors of the centennial event anniversary.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are very few cities in the world as philanthropic as Dallas,\u201d FC Dallas President Dan Hunt told The News. \u201cI know so many of these families associated with these teams, and where their value systems are on helping out others. This is a great sports town. It loves major events. There\u2019s been a lot of success over the years from that, and it\u2019s a way for all of us to give back.\u201d<\/p>\n

For a century, United Way of Metropolitan Dallas has sought to create access to education, income and health for all North Texans. Among their myriad programs are Dollars for College, which expands access to affordable college savings accounts for low- and moderate-income families; North Texas Healthcare Collaborative, which provides short-term financial assistance to those who lost employer-sponsored health care coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic; and Character Playbook, which encourages students to build values with the involvement of NFL players.<\/p>\n

Sports, in particular, and philanthropy are \u201cinextricably linked,\u201d Sampson said, adding, \u201cThey\u2019re not just connected, they\u2019re inseparable.\u201d<\/p>\n

United Way\u2019s relationship with the NFL dates back decades. Growing up, Hunt recalls his father, the late Lamar Hunt \u2014 founder of the American Football League and the Kansas City Chiefs \u2014 always expressing strong support for the United Way. They would have conversations about the importance of giving back, being supportive of an organization engaging in strong community service \u2014 conversations that the younger Hunt said left a mark on him. <\/p>\n

Those of a certain age remember early United Way commercials featuring Roger Staubach and other luminaries during NFL broadcasts.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember watching the NFL in the \u201970s and United Way was synonymous with it,\u201d Dallas Stars CEO Brad Alberts, a member of the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas board of directors, told The News. \u201cIts history is amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alberts called Sampson \u201cworld class\u201d and \u201cas driven as any nonprofit leader I\u2019ve ever been around.\u201d That seven pro teams work deeply with United Way, he said, speaks to Sampson\u2019s organized vision and ability to attract the franchises to her clear mission. <\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Dallas Cowboys and United Way of Metropolitan Dallas celebrate Reading Day during the Cowboys’ regular season 44-22 win over the Washington Commanders at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Oct. 19, 2025. (James D. Smith\/Dallas Cowboys)<\/p>\n

United Way of Metropolitan Dalla \/ \u00a9James D. Smith\/Dallas Cowboys<\/p>\n

LaDondra Wilson, the Wings\u2019 vice president of social responsibility and executive director of the Dallas Wings Community Foundation, said their pillars are women and girls, social justice, youth sports, health and wellness and education, making their collaboration with United Way essential.<\/p>\n

And Greg Bibb, CEO of the Wings, added that with their move from playing games in Arlington to Dallas in the coming years, they are doubling down on community impact efforts in the city of Dallas, making the centennial celebration the perfect opportunity to focus energy here.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had an opportunity to work in a handful of markets in my career, and all of them have been great for different reasons,\u201d Bibb told The News. \u201cBut there\u2019s never been a market where I\u2019ve experienced the collaboration and the partnership amongst the teams for one another and then collectively supporting other things.\u201d<\/p>\n

D-FW sports teams will have their fingerprints on Saturday\u2019s celebration as well. Among the distinguished guests expected to take part: Dirk Nowitzki, Charles Haley, Darren Woodson, Blackman and Marty Turco.<\/p>\n

The D-FW pro sports teams have an \u201cenormous megaphone that helps us get the word out about the important work we\u2019re doing to create access and opportunity for more people to thrive here at home,\u201d Sampson said. \u201cAnd we couldn\u2019t do it alone \u2014 like, we could not. We couldn\u2019t have the reach that we do when we partner with these organizations. Only in Dallas does this type of partnership happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Disney and Penn ended a 10-year, $2 billion ESPN Bet agreement after failing to capture a significant market share over the past two years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As United Way of Metropolitan Dallas marks its 100-year anniversary Saturday with an array of memorable events at…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":372635,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,64,1596,8998,3139,1320,24633,2470,15519,222,358,1278,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-372634","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-dallas","11":"tag-dallas-cowboys","12":"tag-dallas-mavericks","13":"tag-dallas-stars","14":"tag-dallas-trinity-fc","15":"tag-dallas-wings","16":"tag-fc-dallas","17":"tag-sports-business","18":"tag-texas","19":"tag-texas-rangers","20":"tag-tx","21":"tag-united-states","22":"tag-united-states-of-america","23":"tag-unitedstates","24":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","25":"tag-us","26":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115533727565018458","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=372634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372634\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/372635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=372634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=372634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=372634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}