Chicago Bears

Matt Forte nominated for Man of the Year award

Published Dec. 3, 2015 1:10 p.m. ET

foxsports

The NFL's 32 nominees for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award were announced on Wednesday, and running back Matt Forte was selected from the Chicago Bears.

Forte's bio on the NFL's official website highlights his "What's Your Forte?" Foundation for the youth in the Chicago community:

Matt Forte founded The Matt Forte 'What's Your Forte?' Foundation in 2013 to empower at-risk Chicago-area youth striving to achieve their dreams of higher education by providing mentoring, counseling, tutoring and academic scholarships. It is Matt's mission to help youth meet their full potential.

This summer, Matt hosted his third annual Matt Forte Football ProCamp. Matt has also hosted various mentoring dinners and camps in prior years, both in Chicago and his hometown, Slidell, La. In preparation for the upcoming school year, the Matt Forte "What's Your Forte?" Foundation hosted its inaugural "Back to School 'Kicks' and Backpack Giveaway." Matt provided more than 200 kids with backpacks, school supplies, tennis shoes and other clothing items. Matt understands that the families of many Chicago-area youth are unable to provide their children with "back-to-school" clothing items. Filling this void helps remove the stigma that children face upon returning to school each year, allowing them to focus on academics and not individual appearances. The foundation additionally has a turkey giveaway planned for Thanksgiving.

A seven-person panel -- including NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Connie Payton, Walter Payton's widow -- will announce three finalists in January 2016 and the winner will be named at the NFL Honors awards show on Super Bowl Sunday Eve. Each nominee receives a $5,000 donation to the charity of his choice; the winner gets an additional $50,000 ($6,000 for runners up).