People

Mar. 9, 2017 12:55 pm

Philly philanthropy just lost its celebrity poster boy

Poster man? Anyway, the Eagles have released defensive end Connor Barwin, who's been an active supporter of the city's parks.

Connor Barwin shakes hands with the PA National Guard.

(Photo by Flickr user Pennsylvania National Guard, used under a Creative Commons license)

Philadelphia loves NFL defensive end Connor Barwin.

Even Philadelphians who don’t watch football or, worse, don’t like the Eagles. They love him because he’s active in the community, which is another way of saying he raises a lot of money for things like parks and playgrounds.

Barwin was released today after four seasons with the Birds. He posted this on Instagram:

Barwin has been more or less the celebrity face of doing good in Philadelphia in recent years, mostly through his Make The World Better Foundation, which he says will continue in his absence.

The impact community is already reacting.

Barwin’s release means Philadelphians who feel the need to put a celebrity face on local giving will have to wait for the next professional athlete to step up — or prop up existing celebrities who are not only from Philadelphia, but are more representative of the communities they’re giving back to.

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