Bills Player Community Leadership Committee announces organizations for 2024 Inspire Change Campaign

For the PCLC, the campaign gives the players a chance to give back to a community that has welcomed them since their arrival in Buffalo.

“We’ve been in Buffalo for seven years now and so with these community outreach events that we’ve had throughout the years, going to different boys and girls clubs or go to some schools and visit some people in the community, Buffalo, for me, is home,” said Micah Hyde, who leads the PCLC along with left tackle Dion Dawkins.

Hyde hosts an annual charity softball game which raised $400,000 for his IMagINe For Youth foundation last May. Hyde spent time with the Salvation Army over the summer, giving out backpacks, snacks and haircuts to children ahead of the upcoming school year.

Dawkins, who is the Bills’ nominee for the 2023 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award, often spends his off days in the community, speaking at local high schools and handing out Thanksgiving dinners.

“It’s important to be in the community and to be present in the community and actually do stuff that your heart really is drawn to because it isn’t just about giving a check … but being present for these people here,” Dawkins said.

Dawkins was also named the recipient of the Community Impact Award for the MLK Day Ceremony hosted by Mayor Byron Brown and the Division of Citizen Services for his connection with Buffalo residents, his spirit of service and his representation and advocacy for marginalized communities in Buffalo.

The NFL will honor the life of MLK with each of the 12 teams participating in Super Wild Card Weekend donning “Be Love” and “MLK” decals on their helmets. In addition, they will help launch a new initiative run by Martin Luther King III called “Realizing the Dream.” The five-year campaign will launch during this weekend’s games and encourages the public to contribute 100 million hours of volunteerism by what would be Dr. King’s 100^th birthday.