Quarterback Philip Rivers is one of three finalists for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award. The honor is the NFL’s only award that recognizes a player’s off-the-field community service as well as his playing excellence. Philip and his wife Tiffany have spent the past two years helping San Diego’s unwanted, abandoned and orphaned children find permanent, loving homes through their Rivers of Hope Foundation.

The Rivers of Hope Foundation has already had a tremendous positive impact in our community. Over $690,000 has been raised due in large part to the success of the Philip Rivers 5K Run & Walk and the Philip Rivers Football Camp. A portion of the funds helped pay for a new football field for the San Pasqual Academy, a live-in high school for foster children. More importantly, the foundation has helped match several children with adoptive parents.

Rivers shares the honor of the nomination with the Chargers fans and all who have supported the Rivers of Hope Foundation. “I think San Diego is being recognized in a sense for the work they have done helping (foster) kids in this community,” Rivers said.

Although Rivers did not start his foundation until he had already been in the league for six years, he is happy it was formed while he is still playing. “I really wanted to find (something) that I was passionate about,” Rivers said of his wait to start the foundation. “When you are retired you are not as visible. You can have the most impact when you are a current (player).”

Rivers is aware of his power to influence young people as an NFL star. “I hear that debated a bunch by players. ‘Are we role models?’ I really think so,” Rivers said. “Especially in professional sports this day and age. That is what kids are watching and that is who they look up to. I really take that responsibility seriously.”

For Rivers the best way to use his status as an NFL celebrity is to be personally involved in all of the activities of the foundation. “I wanted to do the fundraising along with being hands on and interacting with the people in the community,” Rivers said.

This approach can easily be seen in the Philip Rivers Football Camp where he personally interacts with every participant over the course of the two day event. “You can be impactful in those couple hours,”Rivers said. “You are helping the kids in need, but at the same time there are 250 kids there that you can impact through the football camp.”

Philip and Tiffany have six children of their own. They are also Catholic and frequently attend mass. “We felt that we were led by God to help (foster) children,” Rivers said. “These kids don’t have the childhood that we all had and that is really no fault of their own. We wanted to help (foster) kids and provide the same things that we provide for our own kids.”

Rivers points out that raising awareness for foster children and their need for adoptive parents is far more important than raising funds. “You would be surprised,” Rivers said of the struggles foster children face. “There are kids out there that don’t know how many schools they have been to in the last two semesters, or when their birthday is, or how old they are.”

Finding forever homes for these children is the best way to improve their lives. Several matches have already been made by the Heart Gallery that showcases adoptable children with pictures taken by professional photographers. Rivers and his wife made a commitment to fully fund the gallery out of their own pockets for the foundation’s first four years.

The Rivers of Hope Foundation has also found success by forming strategic partnerships with other like minded organizations such as the Angels Foster Family Network, Just In Time Foster Youth, and Voices for Children. “So certainly it’s really recognizing their efforts as well,” Rivers said of being a finalist for the Walter Payton NFL Man on the Year Award.

The winner will be announced during “NFL Honors,” a two-hour primetime awards special to air nationally on February 4 from 6-8 p.m. on NBC. The other two finalists are Baltimore Ravens center Matt Birk and Chicago Bears cornerback Charles Tillman. Birk’s foundation encourages children to read at home while Tillman’s improves the lives of critically and chronically ill children by providing support and life changing experiences.

Rivers hopes the exposure will ultimately benefit San Diego’s foster children. “This cause is more about awareness,” Rivers said. “Certainly the more recognition it receives, the more awareness for the kids. I am certainly not doing it to get any pat on the back for myself, but while that happens if kids are getting helped then it is getting the job done.”