December 12, 2019 – COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Compassion International is proud to share that Nate Solder, one of our partners, has been chosen by the New York Giants as their team’s nominee for the 2019 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award. According to the NFL, the award “recognizes an NFL player for his excellence on and off the field.”
Solder, an offensive tackle for the Giants, and his wife Lexi helped fund the launch of Compassion child development centers in three countries: Thailand, Burkina Faso and Uganda. Those church-based centers provide Compassion’s holistic child development program to more than 1,000 children. The couple has traveled to Uganda and Guatemala with Compassion to see the ministry’s life-changing program firsthand. They sponsor five children, and they pray for them daily.
“We’ve been put on this earth for more than just ourselves,” says Solder. “There’s so much more to us than just being football players. There [are] so many more opportunities that we’re afforded because we’ve been so successful on the field. And so to make an impact in someone’s life – to change lives, to change countries, to break people out of poverty – is something that we have an opportunity to do. And it’s so exciting.”
Santiago “Jimmy” Mellado, Compassion’s president and CEO, said, “I can’t think of anyone more deserving to be nominated for this prestigious award. It’s been a great joy to witness Nate and Lexi Solder's passion to spread hope and end poverty.”
The winner of will be announced on February 1, the eve of Super Bowl LIV, and will receive $250,000 donated to United Way in his name and up to $250,000 donated to his charity of choice. All nominees will receive a $50,000 donation in their name to United Way and up to $50,000 donated to their charity of choice.
To learn more about Nate and Lexi Solder’s partnership with Compassion, visit compassion.com/cleats.