HOUSTON – The Houston Texans will donate the proceeds from the team's game day auction to a fund created to support the Berry children, the team announced today. The Houston Texans Foundation, the team's official non-profit philanthropic organization, operates the auction at each Texans home game.
Houstonians Joshua and Robin Berry were tragically killed in an automobile accident on July 2 while returning from a family vacation in Colorado. Their three children survived the accident, but their sons, Peter, 9, and Aaron, 8, were left with spinal cord injuries, and their daughter Willa, 6, suffered multiple broken bones in the crash.
"Houston is an incredibly diverse city, but we're all Texans and Texans rally to support one another in times of need," said Texans president Jamey Rootes. "This story particularly touched our hearts as members of the Houston football family, and once we learned about this we immediately began working to find the right way to help Peter, Aaron and Willa."
The children's maternal grandfather, the late Phil Perlo, was a member of the 1960 AFL Champion Houston Oilers team. Several Texans players, including QB Matt Schaub, TE Owen Daniels, ILB DeMeco Ryans, S Glover Quin, T Eric Winston and DE J.J. Watt, visited the Berry children in the hospital in hopes of boosting their morale.
The Texans are also working with ESPN and KHOU to raise awareness before and during the game on Monday night. The family's story gained national attention when pop music star Justin Bieber helped launch a website telling people how to donate to the Berrys.
The auction is located in the concourse behind Section 140 and will be open from the time stadium gates open at 5:30 p.m. until the end of halftime. It will include items autographed by Texans players, team memorabilia and unique Texans experiences.
Among the items available at the auction are:
- Matt Schaub autographed authentic framed jersey
- Arian Foster autographed framed picture collage commemorating 2010 NFL rushing title
- Texans helmet signed by new Texans Johnathan Joseph and Danieal Manning
- J.J. Watt autographed encased Texans helmet
- A trip for two (2) to the Texans' game at the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, October 23
- Game-worn equipment from Monday night's Texans-Jets game
- Opportunity for two (2) fans to experience pre-game intros from the Texans tunnel at the Texans' regular-season opener vs. Indianapolis on September 11
- Four (4) pre-game sideline passes for the Texans' regular-season opener vs. Indianapolis on September 11
Fans can also help from where they're sitting by texting BERRY to 85944 to make a $10 donation to the HJCF Berry Family Foundation for Orphans. For more information about the Berry Children's Trust Fund, visit www.theberrychildren.org.
For up-to-the-minute information on the team, follow the Texans PR staff on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TexansPR. To access the Houston Texans media website, go to www.HoustonTexans.com/media. The section contains all of the Texans press materials, historical information and team statistics.
