Texas Children’s cheers on Houston Texans at Kids Day game

October 12, 2020

Texas Children’s celebrated PLAY 60 by cheering on the Houston Texans as they beat the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 5th Annual Kids Day game presented by Texas Children’s Hospital.

Kids Day highlights the National Football League’s PLAY 60 initiative, a campaign that encourages kids to be active for 60 minutes a day in order to reverse the trend of childhood obesity. Texas Children’s, the local presenting sponsor of PLAY 60, was featured throughout Sunday’s game.

Texas Children’s surgery patient, Matthew, served as the Coin Toss Captain. Sitting in his room at Texas Children’s in the Medical Center, he said “Go Texans! Beat the Jags!” To watch the coin toss, click here.

Even though our patients couldn’t be there in person to cheer on their team, they were there in spirit as featured cardboard cutouts in the stands at NRG Stadium. View photos of those cutouts below.

The week leading up to the game was filled with fun as well. On October 6, Houston Texans linebacker, Jacob Martin, made a special virtual visit to Cancer Center patients ahead of Sunday’s game. A robot dressed in Martin’s jersey went room to room as if he was on-site at the hospital. During this time when in-person interaction is limited, this surprise brought many smiles to patients and their families. View photos from Martin’s visit below.

Additionally, the Houston Texans Foundation donated $250,000 to Texas Children’s in support of our Pediatric Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit (IRU). The IRU works to heal patients physically and emotionally following a severe illness or traumatic injury. This gift named the unit’s gym and transformed it with encouraging phrases and Texans colors. The donation will also provide resources to help enhance the quality of life for these patients.

Click here to see a video about the IRU and Martin’s visit, and see photos of the unit below.

Texas Children’s Hospital and the Houston Texans are two winning teams that share one goal – keeping Houston kids healthy and encouraging them to be more active. To learn more about our partnership, visit: texaschildrens.org/texans.

Cutouts in the stadium

Jacob Martin’s virtual visit

Pediatric Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit