Dak Prescott and Troy Aikman shared the stage Friday night as honorary chairs of the Children's Cancer Fund 36th Anniversary Gala in Dallas, where the fundraiser brought in more than $3 million for cancer research. The event was a fashion show with 18 pediatric cancer patients walking the runway alongside celebrities, giving the night a feel that was part celebration, part plea for help.
For Prescott, the invitation carried the weight of a family tradition and a personal cause. He said when Roger Staubach and Aikman call and say they have been part of something for 30 years, you sign up, and he added that the point is not following in anyone's footsteps but being there for the kids and their families. Prescott said becoming a parent sharpened that instinct, because now he empathizes with parents too. Losing his mother to cancer, he said, made him understand that the adults around sick children often need support just as badly as the patients do.
Aikman said the Children's Cancer Fund has been part of his life for more than 30 years, and he traced his own involvement back to Staubach, who got him started before Aikman brought Prescott in. He said the event has changed from a luncheon to a dinner and then to the fashion-show gala it is now, but the goal has stayed the same. Aikman said he keeps thinking there will come a year when the group will not need to hold the gala because a cure will have been found, but that moment has not come.
The football connection has become part of the event's identity. Aikman said being the Cowboys quarterback puts a player in a position to help others, and that there is a legacy tied to Dallas quarterbacks and the Children's Cancer Fund. He said Roger Staubach was the right choice to start that chain, that he hoped he was the right one when Staubach asked him, and that he knows Prescott is the right one now. Aikman added that Prescott represents himself, the organization and everything good about it, and said he was thrilled to see that legacy move forward.
The night's symbolism matched its purpose. Eighteen children facing cancer walked with celebrities, and the crowd helped raise money for research that families hope will one day make the gala unnecessary. For now, Prescott's role is less about celebrity than presence, and that may be why the event still lands after so many years.
