Cincinnati Bengals center Ted Karras started a small thing upon his arrival in town via custom hats for those close to him, including his fellow offensive linemen.
It quickly blew up into something so much more.
Fast forward to now, Karras and those close to him started selling the hats for charity and to date have raised roughly $500,000, far surpassing the initial goal of $100,000. All 100 percent of the proceeds go to the building of facilities for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Indianapolis.
“Between donations and sales, we’ve raised over half a million dollars, which is exceeding the goal to build a new facility in The Village of Merici,” Karras said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “It means the world to me. It’s an amazing feat. Thank you to all the fans who embraced me, embraced this team. It’s been a wonderful year in Cincy. I’m really thankful to be here. Disappointed we couldn’t get it done.”
It’s an amazing story and another example of things communities can do when they band together.
Fox 19’s Joe Danneman also covered the story recently:
Ted Karras made a hat and it made for a great story.
"I'm just truly grateful to the Cincinnati fan base. It's truly unbelievable."
The #Bengals team captain, the Cincy Hat and the fan base making a difference. pic.twitter.com/cVc0vz6LFb
— Joe Danneman (@FOX19Joe) January 28, 2023
