Former Eagles attend third annual ‘Team Dinner’ to support Connor Barwin and Chris Long’s foundations
All proceeds from the “Team Dinner” support Barwin’s Make the World Better and the Chris Long Foundation.
Nearly eight years after climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa together, Connor Barwin and Chris Long are still reaching new heights together with their charity work. On Tuesday evening, the pair hosted their third annual “Team Dinner” at Steak 48 in Philadelphia with proceeds benefiting Barwin’s Make the World Better Foundation and the Chris Long Foundation.
“I love this event,” Barwin said. “It’s one of my favorite events that we do every year. This is the third one. When I played, I loved the team dinner we did every Thursday or Friday night. We always had fun, we always had a good meal, and we eventually always talked about what we could do to play together to help the team win the next game on Sunday. And really, that’s what this is about.
“It’s about bringing a lot of people together in Philly that want to have fun, want to have a good meal, and then we’ll get to raising some money and talking about how we collectively can come together as a team and help make Philly a little better place.”
» READ MORE: NFL Week 14 power rankings roundup: Faith in the Eagles is dwindling after another ugly loss
Barwin, who spent four of his 10 seasons with the Eagles, founded the Make the World Better Foundation in 2013 during his first year in Philly. Its mission is to revitalize public spaces and provide safe outlets for recreation, sports, and arts-based activities.
Long, who spent two of his 11 seasons in Philly, founded the Chris Long Foundation in 2015 with the mission to advance access to clean water and educational equity. After being named the Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2018, Long knew he wanted to continue giving back postretirement.
“There were so many guys that deserve that thing,” Long said. “You know, it’s not why you do the things off the field. And when you get an award like that, you kind of, it’s like a nudge. You say ‘All right, well, if you say you’re that person, you better keep working.’ So, I’ve tried to keep doing the work. I looked at it as more of a challenge than like an honor. It was an honor, but I got to keep being that person.”
The “Team Dinner” is an annual event inspired by team dinners from their playing days. Many former Eagles players attended, including Seth Joyner, Harold Carmichael, Ron Jaworski, James Bradberry, Brent Celek, Todd Herremans, and Vinny Curry, along with Eagles security boss Dom DiSandro.
“These are my brothers,” Curry said. “What they do for the city of Philadelphia is amazing. To bring the ‘Team Dinner’ back to Steak 48 into the city of Philadelphia goes to show you how much Philadelphia meant to them.”
» READ MORE: The Washington Post snubbed Philly on list of America’s best sports cities. Here are nine reasons they’re wrong.
Ahead of the dinner, guests could buy raffle tickets to win a number of items — including a V.J. Edgecombe signed jersey, an A.J. Brown signed jersey and Eagles swag bag, and a Jalen Hurts autographed Super Bowl book and Super Bowl LIX blanket.
“Donors don’t walk in the door and feel pressured,” Long said. “The only pressure is to have a good time and kind of recreate the atmosphere of a team dinner from when we played. I think people look forward to it.”