ARLINGTON, Texas – A surprise is even better when it's live.
 
Especially for Mentors Care, a North Texas nonprofit with the mission to connect struggling high school students with mentors, tools and resources to help lead them toward graduation and purposeful lives.
 
For the third straight year, the Cotton Bowl Foundation kicked off North Texas Giving Day in grand fashion, surprising Mentors Care with a $25,000 grant during the Aug. 28 live edition of WFAA-TV's 4 p.m. newscast. The official foundation of the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic helped jump-start the 2026 edition of the largest community-wide giving event in the nation on the day before the start of the 2026-27 college football season.
 
Cotton Bowl Athletic Association and Cotton Bowl Foundation Chair Monica Christopher unveiled the surprise in an interview conducted by WFAA-TV reporter Adriana De Alba with Mentors Care Managing Director Brian Blackwell and Communities Foundation of Texas Senior Director, Donor Engagement Melissa Hardage.
 
The Cotton Bowl Foundation surprised AT LAST! twice with $25,000 of its $50,000 grant awarded as part of its annual grants program during North Texas Giving Day 2024. Last year, the Foundation surprised HOPE Farm with $25,000 during the Aug. 14 edition of WFAA-TV Midday.
 
The Cotton Bowl Foundation has been an active participant and supporter of North Texas Giving Day since its inception in 2016. Since 2016, the Foundation has awarded more than $4.5 million in grants and financial support benefiting nonprofit organizations in the surrounding communities.
 
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