The past couple of weeks have felt like a whirlwind for Matt DeMateo — CEO of New Life Centers of Chicagoland and the Bears’ 2025 NFL Inspire Change Changemaker Award recipient.
Flooded with gratitude and joy and receiving many congratulatory messages since earning the prestigious award — which honors one individual in each NFL market who is impacting lives through social justice work — DeMateo hasn't had much time to stop and reflect on what the award means to him personally.
But Saturday evening, as DeMateo and his family headed from their home in Little Village to Soldier Field, where he would be recognized on the field in front of 60,000+ people during the Bears-Packers game, he paused to think about his father, who passed away from cancer four years ago.
"My mom, on the way to the game, said, 'Man, these days make me miss your dad, because he would be so proud, and he would be at the game with you,'" DeMateo said. "My dad raised me a Bears fan. He was from the West Side, and so being here at a Bears game is just bringing back a lot of memories of him and all that he did as a Bears fan, and it's incredible."
DeMateo, originally from northern Indiana, has been committed to making change in the Chicago community since moving to the city at age 18. At the helm of New Life Centers since 2013, he has helped turn the once small volunteer-led initiative into a widely-known trusted resource and presence throughout Chicago, which supports over 10,000 youth and families annually by providing a variety of programs including mentoring, academic supports, sports-based youth development, street outreach, restorative justice programming and trauma-informed family support.
Never did he think the work he has done at New Life Centers would lead him to being invited to a Bears game, let alone standing on the sideline.
"After an amazing year, a hard year, a really hard year out in the neighborhood where our team worked to really love our neighbor, walk with our neighbors, it's amazing to see the Bears winning and leading in the community," DeMateo said. "So, this is incredible. An opportunity of a lifetime and my first ever regular season Bears game, and to be against Green Bay, while we're winning, is completely incredible."
The Bears had even more in store for DeMateo. During the pregame window, as the players warmed up, President & CEO Kevin Warren came down to the field to meet DeMateo and thank him for being a changemaker in the Chicago community.
To further show that gratitude, Warren surprised DeMateo with two tickets to Super Bowl LX.
"I was surprised just to get here, to be on the field, seeing Common, seeing the team, but to get Super Bowl tickets from Kevin Warren is amazing," DeMateo said. "I was blown away. I'm still processing it, but I think it's a testimony to my team, my staff, our volunteers, the work that's been happening. They are the real heroes. We celebrate 20 years this year as an agency.
"It's been incredible to be able to see that through all these hard times, that we can still, I mean, celebration and joy is part of our response of how we battle through all of this stuff. So being here amongst Bears fans and being here with my family is incredible."
DeMateo said the longstanding support from the Bears — which recently culminated with alumni Jerry Azumah and Henry Melton presenting him with a $10,000 donation from the NFL Foundation — has made a positive impact on New Life Centers.
"The Bears have always been great with us from sending out players, to supporting during COVID as our pantry was growing. Last time the Bears were out, we were building the space, and now we feed 10,000 individuals a month from that space. So it's cool to see our journey and friendship and partnership with the Bears. But it's amazing to see them be able to continue to support everything that's going on in the community."
