Philly philanthropy just lost its celebrity poster boy

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:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BRa_1kpBYTM/

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.

Thank you @ConnorBarwin98. Your commitment to community service and sustainability is an inspiration. Full statement https://t.co/OBbMUCsmuc pic.twitter.com/A0GtkGormx

— NRG Home (@pickNRG) March 9, 2017

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.