GREEN BAY – Jordan Love's NFL career was barely underway the first time he went to mom, Anna, and voiced his intention to start a foundation.

He didn't know all the specifics at that time, but the Packers quarterback felt a burning desire to give back as soon as he was put in a position to do so.

Not for notoriety. Not for praise. But because it was the right thing to do. After all, Love was once the little kid in Bakersfield, Calif., who idolized NFL stars and had a dream of playing the game he loves at the highest of levels.

Now, he is that guy.

"He's very humble," Anna Love said. "He's never gonna be that person that pounds on his chest and says, 'Look at me. Look what I'm doing.' He's going to do everything quietly."

For those reasons and many more, Love was honored Thursday as the Packers' nominee for the 2025 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award. Established in 1970 and renamed in 1999 after the late Hall of Fame running back, the award recognizes players for outstanding community service activities off the field, as well as excellence on the field.

In his third season as the Packers' starting QB, Love has become the face of the franchise in Green Bay. The 27-year-old quarterback has led the team to back-to-back playoff appearances while throwing for 10,948 yards, 79 touchdowns and 28 interceptions over 54 regular-season games (45 starts).

As his star rises, Love has used his growing platform to amplify causes close to his heart with his Hands of 10ve Foundation, which aims to inspire and empower children from all backgrounds to engage in sports, promoting physical and mental well-being.

A core part of the initiative is running youth camps both in Bakersfield and Milwaukee for area kids. In July, he hosted 600 participants for a football camp at the University School of Milwaukee that included instruction, competitive drills and lectures.

The sight of Love interacting with all the kids brings a smile to the face of his wife Ronika, a professional volleyball player who remembers what it's like to be a kid at a youth clinic and wanting to meet her favorite athlete.

"My favorite thing is whenever he's interacting with the kids at his camp," said Ronika Stone Love. "He's very hands-on. He's not somebody who just shows up because he's getting in the hours and leaving. He enjoys every moment that he gets to spend with these kids, joking around."

The other aspect of Hands of 10ve close to Love's heart is raising awareness about mental health and suicide prevention after losing his father, Orbin, when he was just 14 years old.

Love and his foundation have partnered with groups both in Wisconsin and California that support mental health awareness, including suicide prevention walks, fundraisers and other giveback opportunities.

"With this, there is a mental health side," Jordan Love said. "My family has been impacted. We've had suicide in our family, so the mental health awareness and bringing awareness and understanding people aren't alone. Whatever they're going through, they can get through it."

Love has worked diligently to foster stronger relationships between law enforcement and the community to honor his dad, who was a police sergeant with the Bakersfield Police Dept.

Orbin was a strong supporter of the Bakersfield chapter of the Police Activities League, which promotes the prevention of juvenile crime and violence by building relationships among kids, cops, and communities through positive engagement.

Carrying on his father's legacy, Love proudly represented PAL as part of the NFL's My Cause My Cleats campaign last month.

Over the past few years, Hands of 10ve has been extremely active not only in Bakersfield but also the Green Bay community. Last month, the foundation once again partnered with Better Days Mentoring for Love's sixth-annual coat drive in Green Bay where more than 1,000 coats were distributed.

Earlier this week, Love and several of his Packers teammates also hosted eight kids for a surprise shopping spree. It's just another example of how the quarterback has continued to make Green Bay home.

"All those things are full circle," said Eddie Boyce, the founder of Better Days Mentoring. "He's talked about how he grew up and how he had a lot of mentors and people around him.

"To see these kids, you got kids getting their boot casts signed. For them to just be so excited but also have the ability to be like, 'Oh, this guy is just like me.' Yeah, he is. He is just like you. He just suits up on a Sunday."

To help promote athletic participation, Hands of 10ve donates brand-new cleats to youth sports teams in Wisconsin and Bakersfield for every touchdown Love throws during the season.

He's thrown 19 with five games to go, which has resulted in 38 teams receiving new cleats. Love's objective is for any child who wants to play sports to have the means to safely do so.

"He has so much love and joy," Anna Love said. "He's faced a lot of hardship in his short life. To see him interact with these kids, it does my heart great. To see him give these cleats and how excited these kids are when they get the cleats, it's fulfilling."

With his nomination for Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year, Love joins an exclusive group of former Packers players who have been honored for their philanthropy and outreach.

That includes former quarterback Aaron Rodgers, outside linebacker Clay Matthews, defensive lineman Kenny Clark and running back Aaron Jones. One of the 32 league nominees will be chosen as the award winner at the NFL Honors ceremony during Super Bowl week.

Love humbly accepts his honor while vowing to continue finding more ways to use his platform to its fullest potential. Because there's still plenty of work left to be done.

"Being nominated for the work you're doing off the field, not just on the field but the stuff you're doing off the field is big time," Love said. "It's something that you're doing it to try and impact lives and impact kids and people going through a lot of difficult times.

"To be recognized for it is a cool honor; it's very awesome, but I think the work that you do to try to make those impacts on different lives is more important."