Brian Dawkins Expands His Work in the Sport for Social Change Space
November 19, 2021
Beyond Sport Ambassador, Brian Dawkins is continuing to use his platform to advocate for wellness and to support youth and communities in need. The last few months especially have seen some exciting new developments for Brian and the The Brian Dawkins Impact Foundation. From the expansion of his digital program providing 'cerebral wellness' (a term he uses rather than mental health) resources to students to the release of his first book and an exciting collaboration with a popular restaurant, the NFL Hall of Famer is promoting action and openess on mental wellness, and supporting youth and communities in need.
For years, Brian has encouraged people to ask for help when they need it, sharing the tools that have helped him through his own traumas. The Brian Dawkins Impact Foundation was created in 2019 with a belief in the power of transformative moments to trigger a spark in young people. Through inspiration, education and resources, the Foundation helps disadvantaged young people, families and communities, while also promoting spiritual, cerebral and physical wellness.
He spoke at Beyond Sport United on November 17 as part of a panel focused on leadership in health. Each panelist provided their insights and examples on their work and what needs to be done to ensure health equity and that the wellness needs of our communities are being met, especially through the pandemic.
"One of the most frustrating things to meet as an exec was meeting after a meeting and nothing getting done. I hope that 2020 has got us past the talking stage to get to action on health for people with the most urgent needs," he empasized.
In April this year, the Foundation expanded the Brian Dawkins Values Program, supported by our sister consultancy thinkBeyond, from Jacksonville, Florida to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The program aims to provide mental health tools and inspiration to young people and educators was was created in partnership with social impact education innovator, EVERFI.
In line with the mission of the Foundation, Brian loves opportunities to engage with youth directly. Earlier this month, he visted with students at George Washington High School in Northeast Philadelphia, one of the most recent schools to sign up for the program. There, he had the opportunity to speak with and answer questions from the nearly 100 students and administrators about his experiences and provide advice and inspiration.
Assistant Principal, Tony Pitsakis, shared that it was one of the students – Joel – who inspired him to reach out to the Foundation to bring the course to his school after a discussion about the importance of mental health. Pitsakis noted, “seeing the looks on the faces of our students today when Brian was speaking to them, when they realized that their greatness has been there the whole time, you knew that these young people were inspired.”
17-year-old Joel shared, “listening to Brian Dawkins talk to us today, really made me think that even though I may be going through some stuff, I can – and will be – OK in the end.”
“It’s really a message of hope and inspiration to individuals who may not feel like they have everything that everybody else has, but it’s not the things that you have outwardly that matters, it’s what you develop on the inside that truly matters,” said Brian to CBS Sports on the day of the event.
Brian touches on those topics and more in his recently released memoir ‘Blessed by the Best: My Journey to Canton and Beyond’, which will also help advance his mission to provide resources and inspiration to help young people on the path to positive futures. 50 percent of the net proceeds received by Brian from book sales will be pledged to the Impact Foundation to help support mental wellness, financial literacy and family assistance programs.
“This is not a football book. It has football in it, but this is a life tool,” he told media outlet Heavy. “These are things that I have gone through in my life, that others have taught me.”
And to cap off an exciting year, Brian has teamed up with Chickie’s and Pete’s, a popular Philadelphia-based crab house and sports bar, to collaborate on the new ‘B Dawk Impact Burger’, which will see $5.00 from every burger sold donated to the Impact Foundation. The burger will be sold through February 2022.
