The Cleveland Browns are committed to the community. Through First and Ten, the Dawg Pound is encouraged to share what they are doing to give back. During the month of August, the Browns will be celebrating PLAY Football! Month, as we feature youth football coaches who #give10 by volunteering their time to help young athletes learn and love the game of football! Get inspired and check out what these fans are doing to help their community:*
WilliamHometown: Cleveland, OhioWilliam is an Intervention Specialist, founder of an after school program, and founder of a youth flag football league. William is a coach on and off the field and is a great example of giving back to the community in many different ways! William's after school program, Team Sanders Inc., focuses on academics and is heavily involved in the community. One of the service projects Team Sanders was a part of last year was "Home for Christmas" where they fixed up a house and gave it away to a family in need! Two other projects the program helped with were the "100 Turkey Giveaway" for Thanksgiving and "Project IMPACT Food Lot," where William and his team made and distributed food to children walking home from school. In terms of youth athletics, William is an organizer and youth coach with the goal to teach and build a sense of community with all of his players. William stresses the importance and guarantee of being in a fun and safe environment, but also helps his athletes understand that hard work is essential in athletics and in life.* *
JohnHometown: Cleveland, OhioJohn is a barber at J&G Barbershop in Cleveland and has been giving back to the community through youth football for many years. John has been a youth coach since the age of 19 and currently holds a spot with the Northeast Ohio Saints Football and Cheer program. His team is a part of the Cleveland Muny Pop Warner League. John and other volunteers help kids from ages 5 years old to 14 years old. John's program is one of the bigger programs in the city, carrying on average 130 boys for youth football and 50 girls for cheer. The league has an Instagram and Facebook, @saintsfootballandcheer and Saints Nation, respectively, so fans can follow all of their success throughout the year! Thanks John!
FranklinHometown: Cleveland, OhioFranklin is part owner of The Property Care Team, which is a property preservation company that he and his wife started 3 years ago. Franklin gives back in a big way through helping youth athletics! He is the head coach for a 6-7-year-old Flag Football team called the Parma Seminoles. Franklin first started with youth athletics when he went to sign up his 5-year-old son for flag football and found out that they did not have a head coach. Franklin thought it would be a great opportunity to help get the young kids on the right path with not only learning the game of football, but also with sportsmanship, team work, and keeping a positive attitude even on their toughest day. Along with this, Franklin is the flag director for the Parma Seminoles and plans on continuing this in the future. Thanks for your efforts, Franklin!
WalterHometown: Cleveland, OhioWalter is the assistant coordinator for the P.A.L. #6 RED DOGGS Muny League football team. He has been a volunteer coach for this same organization since 1998! Growing up in Cleveland, Walter also played for P.A.L. #6 as a kid, and that's when he knew he wanted the opportunity to give back to the community by becoming a coach. Walter says he is very passionate about being a positive role model to the young men that he coaches. Walter and the other volunteers he works with take pride in being a positive outlet for their inner city boys and girls from ages 6-14, to allow them to build lifelong skills such as team building, good sportsmanship, and having respect for themselves, their peers, and adults. Walter aims to inspire the young men to create a special bond with each other, him, and the other coaches, creating a family where they hold each other accountable for their actions on and off the field. Walter is sure to keep in touch with his players year round so that he can be someone they can depend on at any time, not just during football season. Thank you, Walter!
In August, all NFL teams will recognize Play Football Month, a celebration of youth and high school football players and coaches throughout the preseason. Beginning with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, Play Football various youth and high school football activities, personnel and programming will be featured at NFL teams' preseason games at stadiums and during TV broadcasts.
The Cleveland Browns are committed to assisting the development, safety and growth of youth football throughout Northeast Ohio with year-round programming for players, coaches, officials and parents. Through camps, clinics and other initiatives, the Browns' goal is to promote healthy, social, emotional, intellectual and physical development of youth by enhancing opportunities for youth football participation and education.
Interested in signing up your volunteer group for First and Ten? Group forms available! Click herehttp://www.clevelandbrowns.com/community/firstandten.html to learn more about how to #give10
Follow @BrownsGiveBack on Twitter and Instagram and tell us what you are doing to help others using #give10 to unite us all as Browns fans. Give 10 hours, help your community.
The Browns are dedicated to #give10 through the team's First and Ten initiative. Launched in June 2014, the Cleveland Browns First and Ten campaign is the team's community program, established to inspire fans to volunteer in and help their communities throughout the world by volunteering for 10 hours each year. Since its inception, Browns fans have committed to volunteering more than 1 million hours to impact their communities by pledging to #give10. Through First and Ten, the Browns are the only NFL club to promote a long-term volunteering program that unifies the team and its entire fan base, with the goal of impacting every individual's city across the globe, as well as the franchise's local community. All Browns fans are encouraged to join the volunteering effort by signing the First and Ten pledge on the team's website and by sharing their stories with #give10.
