Andy & JJ Foundation hosted a holiday celebration for a special group of children

The Bengals and their fans are missing Andy Dalton on the field. He was put on injured reserve following the team’s loss to the Browns a couple of weeks ago with a thumb injury. However, that hasn’t slowed down his or his wife’s giving spirit.

On Thursday night, the Andy & JJ Dalton gave back to the Cincinnati area by treating some seriously ill and physically challenged kids to a holiday celebration. The quarterback and his wife hosted 12 families at the West Club Lounge at Paul Brown Stadium.

“Christmas time is very special to our family.” Andy Dalton said. “It is important for us to spend time with these families during the holiday. We feel incredibly blessed to be able to provide Christmas spirit for these kids and their families who may not have otherwise been able to experience it this year. These families go through so much throughout the year, and we’re happy to provide a night where they can simply focus on being with each other and create lasting memories.”

Andy and JJ Dalton treated the kids and their families to dinner, which was followed by activities including treat making, video games and even a build-a-bear station. Each family then received a family gift, a Christmas tree and a gift off of the child’s wish list.

This marked the sixth year of the event, which was previously known as “Holiday Hearts.” The event is now known as “The Gift of Christmas with the Daltons,” and it is the one of five programs established by the Andy and JJ Dalton Foundation. their other programs also focus on relieving some of the stress of families and children with serious illnesses or that are physically challenged.

Some of the other programs provided by the Dalton Foundation include Andy and Jordan’s Hub, which provides patients and their families forms of entertainment like iPads, computers, mobile televisions and game consoles during a family’s long stay at the hospital.

They also have a program called “Date Night” where they allow parents of seriously ill and physically challenged kids a night to a private dinner while their children are provided with all sorts of game, food and activities.

It is great to see how invested Andy and JJ Dalton are invested in the Cincinnati area. It is especially awesome considering he is doing this even after his season has effectively ended. It isn’t uncommon to see players on injured reserve not be around, especially if their offseason home is somewhere else.

If you’d like to learn more about the Andy and JJ Dalton foundation here is a link to their website.