BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Buffalo Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins is yet again up for the NFL's Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, which will be announced at the NFL Honors on Thursday night starting at 9 p.m. ET.
Dawkins is looking to be the first Buffalo Bills player ever to win the award.
WATCH BELOW:
The journey that molded Buffalo Bills' Dion Dawkins into who he is today
If you ask Bills Mafia they'll say no one deserves it more than Dawkins, and his family will tell you the same thing.
"He is helpful to no end," said Lisa Dawkins, Dion's mom.
I went to Dion's house a few weeks ago to sit down with his mom and fiancee, Daiyaana Muhammad.
"Where did this selflessness come from?" I asked Lisa Dawkins. "Was he always someone who wanted to give back?"
"I believe it comes from above, it lives in him," responded Lisa Dawkins, nodding her head. "He always had this knack of wanting to help people. He started his little business with shoveling, and that turned into helping the whole neighborhood."
"He'll never stop helping people," Muhammad told me.
"He would ask me to pull over, and help people walking down the street that needed help with bags, and help them cross the street," said Lisa Dawkins.
Dawkins grew up in Rahway, New Jersey. He's the youngest of five children, four brothers and one sister. While Dawkins still supports his hometown community, he calls Buffalo his true home.
"I'm more from Buffalo than I'm from anywhere else," Dion Dawkins told us a few months ago.
"Buffalo embraced him," said Lisa Dawkins. "Of all teams he could've gone to this was a perfect fit."
"I think Buffalo is where Dion is meant to be," said Muhammad.
Dion Dawkins is the mascot for this city of good neighbors. Our newsroom gets press releases weekly about another charity event that Dion Dawkins is holding in Western New York. It never ends with Dion.
"He literally won't rest until he and his mom force him too," said Muhammad. "He’s one of those people who puts 100% into everything he's doing."
While you never know what the "Shnowman" will say next, you can always count on him to give back to the community.
Dawkins has been a mentor to kids through his charity Dion's Dreamers and immersed himself in Buffalo's East Side to give back after the tragic racist mass shooting at the Tops on Jefferson Avenue.
Around Christmas Dawkins and Muhammad ventured around Buffalo giving out gifts to kids, and even made an impromptu stop at Chik-Fil-A to pay for meals. Anytime the Bills have a day of community service, you can expect Dion to be there.
"Even though no one should do it for recognition...to see someone do as much as he does it's nice to get recognized," said Muhammad. "I did a lot of community service growing up so being with someone who is just as passionate... I'm grateful."
"My son is the most selfless, giving, caring young man that I know," said Lisa Dawkins. "He's done so many things for the community and people... I think it would be nice for him to be recognized as the Walter Payton Man of the Year, and even if he's not... He's always our man of the year."