Phillips Honored for Community Work

Second-year Miami Dolphins LB Jaelan Phillips has done tireless work in the community since coming into the NFL in 2021

Jaelan Phillips is coming off perhaps his best performance of the season in the Sunday night game against Pittsburgh, but it was for his off-the-field work that the second-year Miami Dolphins edge defender was recognized Friday.

Phillips was named the Week 8 NFLPA Community MVP after inviting 18 Dolphins rookies to join him for a visit to the Broward Regional Juvenile Detention Center. There, they spent time with 40 youth, speaking about overcoming challenges while providing guidance and inspiration for the future.

“The South Florida community welcomed me with open arms since day one and has given me so much,” Phillips said through the NFLPA. “It’s an honor to be able to give back even in the smallest of ways. NFLPA, thank you so much for this recognition. It takes a team and the work continues!”

Phillips also tweeted his appreciation Friday.

In honor of Phillips being named this week’s Community MVP, the NFLPA will make a $10,000 contribution to his charity or foundation of choice. Phillips will also take part in a virtual or in-person visit to a school or children’s hospital. Along with the other 2022 Community MVPs, he will also become eligible for this year’s Alan Page Community Award, which is the highest honor that the NFLPA can bestow upon a player.

PHILLIPS GETTING HIS TEAMMATES INVOLVED

After making several trips earlier this year to connect with incarcerated youth in Florida, Phillips decided to bring the Dolphins rookie class with him Oct. 18, two days after the team's game against the Minnesota Vikings. The group played games, ate snacks and had conversations ranging from sports to real-life matters. In that time, not only were the kids reminded there are people who believe in them, but Phillips helped his young teammates see the type of impact that they can make with their new platform as professional athletes.

For these visits, Phillips teams up with VERB (Victory Everyday Restoring Belief) Kind, a community outreach program for kids ages 7-17 in juvenile detention centers. VERB Kind’s mission is to help the youth to feel loved and accepted through time spent building relationships.

Giving back to the South Florida community has been on Phillips' agenda since the Dolphins made him the 18th overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft after he completed his college career at the University of Miami.

His work was recognized last year when he became the first rookie to earn the team's Nat Moore Community Service Award.

HOW IT STARTED FOR PHILLIPS

Phillips' first visit to the detention center in Fort Lauderdale came in March when he shared his story of overcoming adversity — how he battled back from medical retirement after sustaining several concussions and a 2018 moped accident to make it to the NFL — with a group of teens, 

Since that visit, Phillips has made a point to bring along some of his Dolphins teammates, like Christian Wilkins and Jaylen Waddle, who played basketball with the youth and generated hope with their presence and support. Phillips, who also hosted a VERB Kind fundraising event this past spring, has expressed a passion for helping children in need, which has inspired much of his charitable work since being drafted by the Dolphins in 2021.

As a rookie, Phillips volunteered multiple times at Lotus House, a shelter for single women and children experiencing homelessness, where he donated costumes for Halloween and hosted a Thanksgiving cookie decorating event. He also provided aid and resources to the residents displaced by the Surfside building collapse, served meals at Miami Rescue Mission and provided gifts to pediatric cancer patients at a South Florida hospital.

This season, he picked up right where he left off. Along with donating $2,000 for Hurricane Ian relief efforts, he has visited pediatric patients at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and joined the Dolphins Challenge Cancer (DCC) executive board to help lead awareness, fundraising and planning for the annual 100-mile DCC event.

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