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. This week we are featuring volunteers from one of our First and Ten Community Partners, the American Red Cross! Get inspired and check out what these fans are doing to help their community:
Vicki – Hometown: Medina
Vicki is now retired from The Red Cross and the Be the Match Registry which she considers two wonderful organizations. She now uses her free time to give back to the community through still working with the Red Cross. Vicki says that volunteering for the Red Cross and Medical Reserve Corps of Medina County is her way of giving back to the people in her community. While Vicki gives so much other her time to others and to volunteering for the Red Cross, she believes that she actually receives much more than she gives. Thank you for your continued support and dedication to the Red Cross, Vicki!
Rhoda- Hometown: South Euclid
Due to personal experience, Rhoda, who volunteers for with the Red Cross at blood drives says it is very important to her. Rhoda's first child had a complete blood exchange when he was born and her second born went into shock during the exchange, unfortunately not being able to complete it. Rhoda made the difficult choice of donating her second and third child to research for she did not want others to go through the same loss as she did. Rhoda donates her O-blood every 56 days and feels it is very important to volunteer to help to save lives and help people who are in need of blood. When she talks to friends and asks them if they donate blood and if they say "no," Rhonda tells them to think of it as saving a life. Thank you for sharing your story, Rhoda.
Ashley- Hometown: Austintown
Ashley volunteers with the American Red Cross and says that it is something she does because she might need the same help herself one day. Ashley spends a few unpaid hours helping a community, and says that she ends up meeting great people along the way. She is glad that she is able to share her time with an organization that quite literally saves lives. While Ashley may not be able to donate blood every time she tries to, she says the least she can do is give up some of her free time to help others who are in need. Good work Ashley!
Jane- Hometown: Mentor
Jane has been a volunteer for a while now with the American Red Cross. Jane says that being a Red Cross volunteer for the past several years has given her the opportunity to help others in need, while also being able to appreciate the goodness in others that she is surrounded by. Jane believes that when a person volunteers for the Red Cross, that person helps all of those in the community who are in need. Thanks for your effort in the community and your commitment to #give10!
Paul- Hometown: Geneva
For Paul, volunteering and service for others has been a way of life since his childhood. Since retiring last November, the American Red Cross has become Paul's primary volunteer interest. Both of his parents were blood donors and Paul, himself has given over sixteen gallons of blood thus far. Paul says that greeting, registering, and providing hospitality for the experienced and new donors fills him with great satisfaction. Along with this, the natural outcome of volunteering with the Red Cross has been the wonderful people that Paul has met. Paul says that volunteering as a blood donor ambassador has been a fulfilling one and that he loves that volunteering can be done at any age! Great job, Paul!
A special thank you to all the donors who gave blood at the annual Cleveland Browns Blood Drive this past weekend as well as the many volunteers and staff from the American Red Cross who helped make the drives a success! #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.
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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.
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