Falcons defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux recently received The President’s Volunteer Service Gold Award and medal from President Barack Obama for his community service with a special commitment to Environmental Stewardship.
“I’m truly humbled and honored to be the recipient of the award,” Babineaux said Thursday. “I know they could have given it to many other people who have done so many other things in their communities, and I never looked forward to receiving anything from the President.”
Babineaux, who’s been with the team since 2005, has volunteered for nearly 100 different organizations in Atlanta.
“It’s just my understanding and my calling of what I need to do as a human as far as a man, and take care of my community,” Babineaux said. “I’m blessed to be in the position that I’m in now for 12 years, and the least I can do is try to give back to the people that believe in me and try to give back to the community in any way I can.
Babineaux was been named the spokesman for the Novelis’ Recycle for Good this season. Each fan that brought 95 cans to the Georgia Dome before home games met Babineaux after games and were personally thanked.
He’s also volunteered for many other organization in metro Atlanta.
“When I got here, (Falcons owner Arthur) Blank is really big in the community, so as a rookie I was out in the community a lot, and as I grew out of my rookie stage, I wanted to make more of an impact away from the Falcons,” Babineaux said. “If I could reach one, and teach one, I did my job as far as reaching back to the community.”
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