Chiefs' Shields wins Iba Citizen Award

Associated Press

TULSA, Okla. -- Will Shields wants to make the world a better place.

Whether its through the foundation he founded or through a simple gesture, he does his best to do just that.

Shields, a 10-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman from Lawton, Okla., is the male recipient of this year's Henry P. Iba Citizen Award, given to athletes who excel in sports and show a desire to help others through their actions. The female recipient is golfer Amy Alcott. The awards ceremony was planned Monday night.

Shields started the Will to Succeed foundation in 1993 to help abused, battered and neglected women and children. As one of his charitable deeds, Shields said he will arrange for battered women to spend a ''day of beauty'' where they are taken to a beauty salon to pamper themselves.

''When they first get there, they are quiet and they don't say much,'' he said, ''and they are wondering, 'Why is this being done? Is it OK? Is it all right?' And then after they start putting the makeup on, it's 'I used to look like this every day. I used to look like this all the time.' It's a good feeling to see those ladies perk up.''

Shields is also involved with St. Vincent's Family Service Center, a nonprofit day care and social service center in Kansas City, Mo., which aids children from poverty-stricken families. He also helps raise funds for the Marillac Center, which serves children with emotional and behavioral disorders, and Safehome, which provides temporary housing and assistance to battered women and their children.

When the Kansas City Chiefs nominated him for the NFL's Man of the Year Award, they were unable to fit all of his good deeds on one sheet -- even after reducing the size of the type. He received the award in 2004.

''Nobody does any more,'' said Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil. ''And nobody does it any better.''

Shields' generosity was inspired by his college coach, Tom Osborne of Nebraska. Osborne encouraged some of the Cornhuskers to be mentors to young children and offered to pay for the college education of any child who went through the mentoring program.

He credits that experience for his outlook on the world.

''Just looking at society as a whole, there are a lot of different things that we are not doing as a group to make sure we are close,'' Shields said. ''Everything is in transit. People are moving from place to place. You can have a neighbor you live next to for five years and never speak to and nobody has a problem with that. I am like, I have never heard of that before.

''You go to meet some people that live in your neighborhood and they are like, 'We didn't want to come talk to you because we know you are busy and people bother you.' The only reason you would bother me is if you came over and wanted something every other day. Then I would just say that's that pesky neighbor that wants something every day.''

Shields said he was helped by parents, coaches, teachers and family friends when he was growing up and he's just returning the favor.

''If I have changed the life of one, that's all that matters,'' Shields said.