Troy Aikman Foundation and Aikman's End Zone "There is nothing more important than the health and well-being of children in our nation. They are the future."                                                             - Troy Aikman

Troy Aikman established the Troy Aikman Foundation in 1992, as a non-profit organization committed to helping needy children. The Foundation is a public charitable 501(c)3 organization. Initially the Foundation's goal was to help children who did not qualify for government assistance, to provide for their physical, psychological, social and educational needs. In January of 1995, the efforts of the Foundation changed to focus on the creation of remarkable interactive playrooms, called Aikman's End Zones, in children's hospitals.

In August of 1996, Troy unveiled his first Aikman's End Zone at the Children's Medical Center of Dallas. A second End Zone opened May 8, 1997, at Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas, and a third opened February 23, 1999, at Oklahoma City Children's Hospital. Troy hopes eventually to have an End Zone placed in every NFL city, and will work with other athletes to accomplish that.

Part of what makes the End Zones unique is the partnership Troy formed with the Starbright Foundation which is chaired by Steven Spielberg. Starbright World is an online computer network that links hospitalized children throughout the country. Each End Zone has "Star Stations," which feature Starbright World, a "high-bandwidth computer network." In this "three-dimensional, multi-user, animated play space," critically ill children can meet new friends, play together, and talk to each other via video conferencing.

Once in awhile, a familiar face will join them online - Troy has the special Starbright computer hardware and software at home so he can interact with the kids.

The Star Stations are contained within the area of the End Zones known as HuddleNet. The centerpiece of this area is an 8'x7'x10' replica of Troy's Cowboys helmet. It serves as a quiet seating area where kids can listen to music on audio headphones. HuddleNet also contains play tables for arts, crafts, and games. Troy is a tropical fish hobbyist, and the End Zones also contain saltwater aquariums with exotic fish, that fascinate the kids. Troy says, "In fact, Fort Worth has done a fantastic job there at Cook's. They send out a schedule to the kids there in the hospital letting them know twice a day the times that they are going to feed the fish, so the kids all come out of their rooms and stand around and watch."

The other area of the End Zones is called Theater 8. It is a screening room/stage with a large projection screen, laser disc player, and surround sound. Some Theater 8s have fiber-optic twinkling "stars" on the ceiling, and others are painted to look like the roof of Texas Stadium. The theaters contain up to 45 seats and additional room for children who are confined to bed.

For more information, visit these sites:

Official Troy Aikman Fan Club
Acme Brick and Troy Aikman
Children's Medical Center of Dallas - Aikman's End Zone
Friends of Cook Children's
Dallas Cowboys Quarterback Joins STARBRIGHT
STARBRIGHT - All About Us
STARBRIGHT World linked to NFL Experience at Super Bowl XXXIII
NFL Superstars to bring NFL Experience to Hospitalized Children During Super Bowl Week

BlueKate's Home Page Honoring Troy Aikman
Questions or comments? Email Kathryn Hansen, BlueKate@aol.com
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This page was last modified on February 10, 2002.