Cowboys Fans Bring Bikes, Toys & Football Love To Preschool

Essence Bennett arrived at preschool on Thursday expecting a regular day of reading, singing and naptime.

The Newhallville 5‑year-old left preschool at the end of the day with a free new bicycle, courtesy of a local group of hardcore Dallas Cowboys fans who are as dedicated to community service as they are to professional football.

On Thursday afternoon at the Harris and Tucker School, a preschool, afterschool and childcare center on Newhall Street near the Hamden border, the CT Cowboys Fan Club held their first ever toy drive and bicycle give away.

The 16-person group of Dallas football fans gave away eight new bicycles and dozens of new toys to the Harris and Tucker students as parents, teachers and other Newhallville community members looked on in support.

The club was founded in February 2016 by a group of New Haveners who love the Dallas Cowboys, have been watching games together for years, and wanted to turn their football fandom into something more than just a weekly celebration of their team of choice.

Though they do do plenty of that. Every Sunday, the club meets at Charlie and James Place on Dixwell Avenue to root on the Cowboys. They travel together to attend Cowboys games in person at least once per season, having just gotten back from a trip to Atlanta.

Outside of the sports bar and the football stadium, they direct their group cohesion towards charitable events. They participated in the 2017 Walk to End Alzheimers down at Lighthouse Point in September, then walked in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer fundraiser a few weeks later. Earlier this year, they held a clothing and food drive for the homeless at Marrakech, Inc. on Whalley Avenue.

“We want to be a very community-oriented fan club,” said club president Juan Gardner at Thursday evening’s toy drive. ​“This is about football, but it’s also about giving back to the community, and in particular about helping kids.”

A Newhallville native and former school security guard who is currently training to be a correctional officer, Gardner said he has been a Cowboys fan his whole life. His all-time favorite Cowboy? Butch Johnson. ​“I’m old school,” he said with a smile.

Club Road Captain Marvin Bennett, who works during the day at the Knights of Columbus and during the night at Yale-New Haven Hospital, said that it’s pretty easy to convince club members to pitch in for charitable events.

“If you can spend a few dollars on a beer on a Sunday afternoon,” he said, ​“then you can buy a bike for a kid.”

With their Cowboys hats, tattoos, and matching leather vests covered in Cowboys arcana, including a patch representing longtime Dallas coach Tom Landry’s trademark fedora, the club members filled the back area of the childcare center with the recently purchased bikes and boxes of Christmas-wrapped toys.

Kim Harris, who is the director of the school, the chair of the Newhallville Community Management Team, a 2017 Democracy School graduate, and the sister of CT Cowboys Fan Club Vice President Kevin Wormley, presided over the gift giveaway, raising her hands and saying, ​“Quiet on the set,” whenever the dozens of children present started making too much noise.

Before the kids got their gifts, they first gave out a few. As part of the school’s regular ​“heroes luncheon” celebration of local police officers, firefighters, and other community leaders, several students gave commemorative photo albums to Fire Chief John Alston, City Clerk Michael Smart and Newhallville Alder Delphine Clyburn.

Then the kids got their turn. Harris drew names from a hat as she raffled off the gifts. One girl got a plastic toy oven. Another boy got a new black bike.

When Essence Tucker’s name was called, the 5‑year-old rushed to the front of the room to pick up her new pink bike. Parting the crowd of black-and-blue-clad Cowboys fans, she peddled back across the room to her cubby, where her dad was waiting with a hug.