August 6, 2025- MADERA, Calif. – By Brandon Johansen and Philip Torres - Just months after announcing his retirement from professional football, Derek Carr made a special visit to Valley Children’s Hospital, reconnecting with young patients and reaffirming his commitment to the Central Valley.

“Yes, I am retiring from football, but I’m definitely not done being involved in this community,” said the former Fresno State and NFL quarterback. “In fact, I believe I’m just getting started.”

Carr, who announced his retirement from the NFL earlier this year, spent a June morning visiting with patients at Valley Children’s who he had previously met, giving him the chance to see how much they’d grown during their journey at the hospital.

“They told me how old some of the kids are now and when I met them… I knew I had gray hairs but I didn’t know I was getting that old,” said Carr.

He signed footballs and took photos with patients and families. He also shared about his son Dallas, who underwent three surgeries at Valley Children’s in 2013 and spent more than three weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

“It’s amazing how fast it goes, because when you’re in that time, it feels like time stands still,” Carr said. The potentially life-saving care that Dallas received at Valley Children’s inspired Derek and his wife Heather to launch DC4KIDS in 2016, which helps support the needs of patients and families at Valley Children’s.

“He’s becoming a little man. He’s doing great,” Carr said of Dallas. “And the community supporting us through that time, it just showed us that people genuinely cared. Not about the football, not about the touchdowns. They genuinely cared about us as people. And we just try and reciprocate that back with what we do.”

“We’re inspired to help ease the burden for families. We know what it’s like to sit in those chairs,” he added.

Carr also met with the family of Emily Carpenter, who passed away in March after a decade-long battle with cancer. He accompanied her family inside the hospital as they delivered a Golden Positivity box to a patient battling cancer – continuing the work that Emily started as she aimed to uplift others fighting childhood cancer.

Carr announced his retirement from professional football in 2025 after 11 seasons. The former Fresno State star set franchise records in passing yards, passing touchdowns and pass completions with the Las Vegas Raiders before playing two years with the New Orleans Saints.

He also recently moved his family back to the Central Valley.

“This is where family is – and I don’t mean family just by blood. I mean family by community. This is the community we want. We want to leave a legacy here for our children and for generations. And so we decided to plant our roots here.”

Now, Carr plans to focus on his family, his community and his work through DC4KIDS.

“I’m not the type of person who just sits back. We love the people here, we love Valley Children’s, I genuinely mean that,” Carr said.

“It’s home, we want to leave an impact and legacy here, and I believe at 34 years old that I am barely just getting started.”

To learn more about DC4KIDS, click here.
Source: Valley Children's Healthcare, Madera, CA.