Open Arms kickstarts Punts For a Purpose

Two collegiate football punters may be competing against each other during the Cy-Hawk game this weekend, but off the field they are joining forces to help a singular cause and kickstart a fundraising and awareness campaign for the Jasper County-based Open Arms Foundation.

Rhys Dakin of the University of Iowa and Tyler Perkins of Iowa State University are participating in the Punts For a Purpose campaign, which allows supporters to purchase Open Arms T-shirts featuring black and gold or cardinal and gold color schemes with the respective player’s name on the back.

Nicholas Pietrack, founder of Open Arms Foundation, said by highlighting these athletes and their commitment to community service he hopes it will inspire others to get involved and support the organization’s mission of providing resources and care for vulnerable children in Jasper County.

T-shirts can be ordered at www.openarmsjasper.org for $25 for adults and $22 for youth. All proceeds generated from the campaign support the Open Arms Foundation. For every shirt purchased, the buyer is entered into a drawing for a chance to win tickets to an Iowa or Iowa State football game.

“These shirts are not just a way to show team spirit; they are also a way to make a tangible impact on the lives of children in need,” Pietrack said.

Prior to the Cy-Hawk game, Pietrack had a chance to meet with Dakin after the team’s 40-0 win against Illinois State. Pietrack said the freshman punter for Iowa is a tremendously generous individual. While not an Iowa native — he was born in Australia — Pietrack said Dakin truly embodies the spirit of “Iowa Nice.”

“During our time together, I shared with Rhys the mission of Open Arms and the challenges that children in Jasper County face,” Pietrack said recently to Newton News. “He was genuinely interested in learning more and expressed a strong desire to help.”

Dakin had a cousin who died at a young age, and it was that experience that drives his vision of wanting to help out other kids and getting them back on track.

In that regard, University of Iowa home games might just be the best place for Dakin. After the first quarter, fans turn to UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital and simultaneously wave at pediatric patients and their families in what is known as the “Hawkeye Wave.” Dakin participated in his first official wave last weekend.

“It was a very moving moment,” Dakin said. “I did it for the spring game and the full game of full practice, and there wasn’t many fans. But yesterday when a bunch of fans were turning and waving at the hospital, it was really a surreal moment. I was looking around like, ‘All these people show so much support for the kids.’”

Dakin’s No. 1 priority as a punter for the University of Iowa is pretty simple: kick the ball. But he also wants to use his role to give back.

“Any sort of way I can give back I like to take hold of and support the best way that I can,” he said.

Although Open Arms has not had a chance to meet with Perkins, Pietrack said the junior punter is also an example of a big-time athlete using his platform to support meaningful causes. Having two punters from the state’s biggest rivalry teams assist in the same cause also carries significance.

“It’s heartening to see that regardless of who you root for — Iowa or Iowa State — both programs have punters who are actively ‘Punting For a Purpose,’” Pietrack said of Dakin and Perkins. “This commitment to making a difference should be celebrated on both sides.”

Open Arms Foundation was founded in 2023 and maintains a headquarters in Newton. The nonprofit features a family room and resource center, and it strives to offer comfort and support at critical moments, fortify foster families and reduce emotional/psychological impacts on vulnerable or at-risk children.