Brent Christopher thinks Children’s Medical Center Dallas has an identity problem.
Too many locals don’t know much about D-FW’s largest hospital devoted to the comprehensive care of children from birth to 18.
They’re unaware that it’s not-for-profit, operates the second-busiest pediatric emergency room in the country, provides groundbreaking cancer and heart treatments, is a renowned teaching institution and takes a holistic mind/body approach to patients and their families.
So the 53-year-old president of the Children’s Medical Foundation, the fundraising arm for the Children’s Health system and parent of the hospital, assembled a dream team to spread the word.
His "billboard" is a Mount Rushmore of current local sports heroes: basketball's Dirk Nowitzki, football's Troy Aikman, golf's Jordan Spieth and baseball's Clayton Kershaw, the Park Cities lefty who pitches for the L.A. Dodgers and suffered a rare relief setback in a heartbreaking loss Wednesday to the Washington Nationals in the National League Division Series.
The idea for the superstar lineup came to Christopher in one of those slap-you-upside-the-head moments.
All four athletes actively support Children’s, giving time and money. Each had expressed an interest in leveraging his celebrity status to do more for the kids and the hospital.
“I sat up one day and realized, ‘Oh my goodness. Look at these incredible, world-class, A-list athletes who have chosen Children’s as a way to give back to their local community and hometown,’ ” Christopher says. “ ‘What if we got them together? What an incredible lineup that would be.’ ”
“Uncle Dirk,” as Nowitzki’s known around the hospital, might have retired from the Dallas Mavericks, but not from his annual role as a very tall Santa’s helper every Christmas.
Dallas’ Hall of Fame quarterback opened his first Aikman’s End Zone at Children’s in 1996 and has been a steadfast advocate ever since.
Kershaw, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, supports life counseling and pet therapy to help patients and their families with emotional stress.
Spieth, the newest to the mix, helps fund music and art programs and travel for out-of-town cancer patients and their folks.
Dirk’s big footprints
The sports stars were unaware of the others’ involvement, so Christopher and his staff went to each and laid out a game plan. “We said, ‘It’s pretty incredible to have each of you individually involved with Children’s. But when you put the four of you in a single list, that’s like mind-blowingly great. Would you be willing to step up and tell your stories together?’ ”
Aikman says it was an easy sell: “Obviously, I’m thrilled to be aligned with these awesome guys. They’ve all done a lot in our community, and giving back to the area is important to them.”
That’s especially true of Nowitzki, Aikman says. “I’m a huge fan of Dirk’s. He’s such a great ambassador for our city and sports landscape. Roger [Staubach] was the role model for so many players who came through Dallas for so many years — and he still is. But for the younger group, Dirk is now that guy who embodies what all local athletes can aspire to do for the community.”
Each sports star and his wife have done 15- and 30-second TV spots telling why they chose Children’s for their philanthropy. There’s also a public service announcement spot that compiles all of their stories. The PSAs will begin airing this week.
“This is my way of showing my continued support for the hospital,” Aikman says. “It should be a great campaign.”
Christopher is certain it will be. “The best way for us to tell our story is for us to get out of the way and let these guys tell their stories about why they chose Children’s.”
Later, civic leaders, grateful families and patients and other local notables will be featured in the yearlong awareness campaign using traditional and social media.
I met with Nowitzki and Christopher recently at the Children’s Kids Zone (built by Aikman and country music superstar Garth Brooks) to discuss why the basketball great is helping lead the charge.
“I fell in love with Children’s shortly after I came to the Mavs,” Nowitzki says.
For more than a decade, Dirk has asked for the wish lists of about two dozen patients at Christmas so he can bring several wrapped gifts to each of them. He’s now joined by his wife, Jessica.
Full court press
The couple does it on a grand scale, bringing huge sets of Legos, 4-foot Frozen princess dolls, iPads, Nintendo games, iTunes gift cards and other toys from the lists.
Dirk sits down with each patient as he or she unwraps the gifts and then plays with the kid — basketball, magic tricks, Uno, Connect 4, Twister — whatever the child is up for.
“The best thing is, some of the younger ones have no idea who I am. They just know this guy is super tall,” the soft-spoken giant says. “It’s not really about who I am or whatever. It’s about bringing smiles to the faces of children. I bring gifts. We play a little bit. They have a blast and get to forget the situation they’re in for 15 or 20 minutes.”
Christopher says even children who don’t know who Dirk is respond because they can tell he and Jessica are there because they want to be, not because someone has told them they should be. “They can instantly sense their authenticity," he says.
That’s partly because Dirk and Jessica have small ones: 6, 4 and 2.
“I’m very blessed and fortunate that all my three kids are in good health and good spirits,” Dirk says. “When I come here, I try to spread joy to these families. But it’s draining. When I leave, I feel very sad for what some of these families are going through. There are some families where the kids never leave the hospital. That’s heartbreaking.”
ER for the future
The foundation’s most immediate need for public support is raising another $30 million to upgrade and overhaul the emergency room, which will treat 125,000 patients this year — second only to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
“This is the primary emergency resource for children all across North Texas,” Christopher says. “We need it to be the best and strongest.”
A few weeks ago, Dirk and Jessica toured the existing ER, which was built in 1967, when Dallas was a city of about 570,000 people. What was considered a busy day back then is now a busy hour.
“I thought I was going to walk into this huge thing,” Dirk says. “But it was really small and compact.”
The Nowitzkis also previewed the upgrade's first phase, slated to open in a few weeks. They were impressed with the new entrance, admitting stations and upgraded exam, triage and trauma rooms.
The ER will also have complimentary valet.
"I’m glad to be part of the new ER,” Nowitzki says. “It’s more kid-friendly with all the colors.”
The $56 million project is scheduled to be completed in 2021.
Four personal missions
While Dirk and Jessica have zeroed in on the new ER, Aikman and his wife, Capa, are still involved with the child life play areas. The new Kids Zone was completed just a few years ago.
The Kershaws are most involved with the child life program, which offers therapists who comfort patients and help meet their psychological and social needs. “Clayton and Ellen’s most recent support has been for the pet therapy program,” Christopher says.
Both Spieth and Annie, his high school sweetheart and now wife, had close friends who battled childhood cancer at Children’s. Pediatric oncology became their shared personal mission.
“We’ve fortunately had not only the funds but the influence to help make a difference,” says Jordan, who established his family foundation after his remarkable 2013 rookie year on the PGA Tour. “Recognizing that and using it to just make somebody’s day does wonders for me personally, but even more importantly, for someone we’re trying to help.”
Children’s travel program struck a chord with the couple. “We felt it was direct to the patients and a significant help to them and their families,” Spieth says. “They don’t have to worry about their travel logistics, which oftentimes can be so difficult even before they begin that process of trying to beat cancer.”
Christopher says the athletes have huge hearts. “They’re all motivated to make the experience here less scary, less threatening, less painful for the kids who have to be here for their care. It’s intimidating for anyone. And when you’re a young kid, it can be an overwhelming experience," he says.
“They’ve devoted both financial resources and their personal time — over and over again. It’s not just a quick, one-time deal.”