Browns Be The Solution Programming | Cleveland Browns - clevelandbrowns.com

The Browns created the Cleveland Huddle Pathway program in 2024 to expose local high school students in the Stay in the Game! Network to the many career opportunities available in sports, aside from being an athlete. Students are invited to Cross Country Mortgage Campus, given a tour of the Browns offices and training facilities, and learn about working in sports from a panel of front office staff.

The Browns created the Bill Willis Coaching Fellowship in 2021 to provide opportunities for a rising minority coach with a focus on the offensive side of the ball. The Fellowship honors Bill Willis, who helped break the color barrier in the NFL and played for the Browns from 1946-1953.

The Browns partnership with Build the Bridge is aimed to empower, develop and unify high school football teams through meaningful interactions between programs of different racial and/or socioeconomic demographics in Northeast Ohio. This season, the Browns provided free Super Bowl tickets and travel accommodations to Build The Bridge founders Mac Stephens, Damion Creel and Kahari Hicks. The coaches were also selected as the inaugural recipients of the Browns' Inspire Change Jim Brown Changemakers Award.

The Cleveland Huddle program was created in 2021 to assist local Black-owned restaurants while also providing food relief to local individuals in need. Since its inception, the Browns have partnered with over 8 local restaurants and 3 local shelters to help impact Cleveland residents.

The Browns, Guardians and Cavs teamed up to form a social justice partnership focused on four main pillars – education, law enforcement voting and community engagement. The Alliance has hosted over a dozen 'Conversations for Change' events designed to bring together law enforcement and local youth to engage in dialogue. Sparked by the leadership of each of the major professional sports teams' head coaches, general managers and front-office executives, the three organizations announced in July 2020 the alliance to better address social justice in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio.

The Browns honored the founders of Build the Bridge with the inaugural "Inspire Change Jim Brown Changemakers Award." The award was officially named after Browns Legend Jim Brown, who continues to be an advocate for change by highlighting leaders in the local community who are making a difference in the social justice space.

Jumpstart and the Cleveland Browns launched a partnership in 2022 and hosted four events at FirstEnergy Stadium: The Small Business Impact Program Showcase, Small Business Training Camp, First in Tech and the second Small Business Impact Program Showcase. Funding was awarded to small business owners and welcomed nearly 800 attendees across all events in that three-month span. The goal of the JumpStart partnership is to accelerate the growth of Cleveland-area Black and Latino entrepreneurs around Cleveland.

In partnership with College Now Greater Cleveland, the Cleveland Browns Foundation annually surprise two recipients with a $10,000 scholarship to further the education of promising young students, many of whom are first-generation college attendees. The Marion Motley scholarship has provided more than $320,000 to over 30 students from the Cleveland area since its inception. Watch the 2022 surprise presentation.

During the NFL's My Cause My Cleats campaign, Browns players make social justice awareness a priority through customized cleats to engage the core pillars and initiatives of the organization.

Browns Head Coach Kevin Stefanski has been influential in furthering the team's Be the Solution efforts through his Uniting Neighbors events. Through community-centric events, Stefanski has aimed to create meaningful engagement between Cleveland youth and Cleveland safety forces.