TERRELL - A former foster child, Casey Rogers has a soft spot for the people who fall through society's cracks.
Dallas' homeless recognize him as the warm-hearted kid who often shows up in a downtown parking lot offering food and clothes. But pretty soon, the whole world will know the freckle-faced 11-year-old as the kid who brings down a big national sports landmark.
Casey is the winner of Kraft Foods' essay contest for kids who have made a difference in their communities. His prize: triggering the April 11 implosion that demolishes Texas Stadium.
"Oh man, I'm just excited," the Terrell sixth-grader said. "Real excited."
Eileen Sharkey Rosenfeld, a brand manager for Kraft, said she was awed with the the scores of kids who participated in the contest.
"We received a lot of entries that were very impressive," she said. "Casey's really stood out because of the great difference he's made in his community."
That difference started more than three years ago when Casey and his dad, Russell Rogers, were at a Burger King in downtown Dallas. A homeless man approached Russell Rogers, who shooed him away. Casey asked why, and his dad told him the man wanted money but probably wouldn't spend it on the right things. That struck a chord with Casey, who was a foster child when he first went to live with Russell and Shelly Rogers a few weeks after he was born. The couple adopted him when he was 1.
"I was just like, look how great y'all helped me," Casey said. "Why don't I help them?"
He founded the charity Casey's Heart and has been helping downtown's homeless ever since. The charity is a ministry of Trinity Life Baptist Church of Garland, where Russell Rogers is senior pastor. Churchgoers, neighbors and even Casey's Boy Scout troop have helped collect, organize and distribute for Casey's Heart.
Casey always shows up to the same parking lot in downtown. Sometimes he visits once a month, sometimes twice. It all depends on how many donations he's received.
"Two packets of crackers and two apples, that's not enough," he said.
It was during one of his collection runs that a Casey's Heart donor told the boy about Kraft's contest. Casey said he figured he might as well give it a shot.
"I was kind of nervous because my dad told me 1,000 kids would be entering," Casey said.
He and his family were sworn to secrecy about his big win. Casey said school was usually enough of a distraction to keep his mind off of the upcoming spectacle he'll headline. But when he saw a classmate eating macaroni and cheese, he started to get excited. Just not enough to let anything slip.
Longtime Dallas Cowboys fans who worried that a young Redskins or Giants follower was going to be named winner of the national contest can breathe a sigh of relief. Not only is Casey a faithful follower of the boys in blue and silver, he once played football in the hallowed home he's about to help tear down. He remembers standing beneath the hole in the stadium's roof when he was a 6-year-old member of the Rowlett Eagles flag football team.
"I was like, I'm standing where Roger Staubach was," he said. Still, Casey saves his fondest remarks for the people he's met since his charity took off. That includes the woman who donated all her husband's clothes soon after she was widowed.
"She just likes us, and we like her," he said. Or Fred, one of his homeless friends. "He's back on his feet now," Casey said. "He's living with his family."
Maura Gast, executive director of the Irving Convention and Visitors Bureau, is helping organize the events surrounding the implosion. She said it's hard to fathom that an elementary-aged kid dreamed up a way to help the homeless – and then followed through for years.
"Maybe by the time you're the age we are you're too jaded to think you can do anything to fix it and when you're young you don't have any reason to think you can't," Gast said.
Casey's mom said that in many respects, her son is like most boys his age. He likes hunting and fishing. He has no desire to ever live in the city. He wants his first car to be a rusty old pickup. But she also admits that she's amazed at what Casey has already accomplished.
"It's every mom's dream," she said.
Casey's Heart and its broader mission are part of the boy's plans for the future, which also include joining the military. After he gets married, of course.
Casey said: "I'm going to have the church keep it going while I'm in Iraq."
MORE ABOUT CASEY'S HEART
Casey Rogers, an 11-year-old boy from Terrell, won Kraft Foods' Project Cheddar Explosion essay contest. He wrote about Casey's Heart, a charity he started to help the homeless. For more information, contact Casey's Heart at 972-303-0123 or visit www.trinitylifebaptistchurch.org. The charity also has a fan page on Facebook.
