By Lisa Zimmerman, Player Engagement Insider
Sometimes a seemingly innocuous event can result in a long-lasting impact. That’s how it was for Kansas City Chiefs punter Dustin Colquitt and his affiliation with Team Smile. In Week 13, Colquitt will take part in the NFL’s My Cause, My Cleats campaign with his game day cleats paying tribute to the organization.
Shortly after joining the Chiefs in 2005, Colquitt was contacted by Dr. Bill Busch, a Kansas City-area dentist. Busch had seen a story on Colquitt and his wife, who at the time of Colquitt’s draft in 2005 had been a dental student and he approached them with an idea for starting an organization focused on dental services for underserved children. The impetus for that had been a story out of Baltimore that received national attention where a young child had died because of an untreated dental infection. Colquitt, whose mother happened to be a dental hygienist, was on board immediately.
“It was definitely where I wanted to be, helping kids out,” Colquitt said. “And, if you’re healthy orally your whole body is healthy,” Colquitt said. “You can’t choose your smile. For a lot of these kids the dental aspect would be icing on the cake. If you can change someone’s appearance, they’re going to be more confident, more likely to try things and more likely to succeed. A lot of kids come in with their lips wrapped around their teeth when they’re talking to us and when they leave they’re ear-to-ear smiles, so we’ve changed their lives.”
The organization holds events around the country – the first of which was hosted by the Chiefs in 2007 – where children in need of dental attention and without the means to pay for it, come and get worked on by dentists and other dental professionals. The money the organization receives from sponsors and donations pays all the costs. Each event offers the equivalent of $250,000 in services.
“It gives you goosebumps knowing that you’re making an immediate and lasting impression on someone’s life,” Colquitt said.
Colquitt is excited about the My Cause, My Cleats campaign for the opportunity it is giving him to highlight something that has become such a big part of his life’s mission.
“In a time where the NFL has such a huge light to shine on the world, it’s cool that they would allow the players personalities to show, and show how they care in the community,” Colquitt said. “To whom much is given, much is expected. To have that chance to represent what we believe in and what we love, it’s good for everybody. It gets fans to see where the player’s heart is.”
Like the other participating players, Colquitt will auction his cleats with the proceeds going directly to Team Smile.
Lisa Zimmerman is a long-time NFL writer and reporter. She was the Jets correspondent for CBSSports.com, SportsNet New York’s TheJetsBlog.com and Sirius NFL Radio. She has also written for NFL.com.