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. Get inspired and check out what these fans are doing to help their community:
How do you give back?
#give10
Name: Julie Gresko
Hometown: Berea, OH
How they give back:
Julie works for the PolyOne Corporation and they have committed to being active in their community and giving back consistently in more ways than one. Financially, staff members have the opportunity each year to support the United Way through a pledging campaign which is the most recent they've engaged in. Secondly, they participated in Hurricane Harvey Relief by coordinating a drive donating boxes of hygiene and paper products shipped to Houston, TX for distribution to families in need. Next they planned a Senior Leaf Raking Day volunteering to rake at least five homes in Berea within four hours. They have their annual food drive for the Berea Outreach Center in which they've collected 615 items to provide meals for 384 Bereans.
Last Christmas they did the Adopt a Family program coming together to support a family with five children to give them a Christmas with clothes, toys and gifts cards. Two ladies supported the Berea Outreach Center by crocheting 15 hats, gloves and scarves and donating them to the center for those in need. Lastly at the Berea Animal Rescue Friends their team of volunteers spent four hours assisting the facility with cleaning cages, walking dogs and provided some TLC to the animals.
Name: Mike Bonnell
Hometown: Akron, OH
How they give back:
Mike is a part of the Pro Football Ultimate Fan Association and each year, he and his friends commit to taking the First and Ten pledge to help their community. He is extremely passionate about football and youth in his community. For the past couple of years they have put on a charity event in Canton, Ohio for more than 400 children. These kids at the J Babe Stearn Community Center receive a backpack full of school supplies, food for them and their families and a chance to win more than 100 door prizes, (memorabilia from teams like the Browns). When the youth walk through the doors they are greeted by super fans from each NFL team. They super fans sign autographs and share some of their favorite memories.
Name: Mike
Hometown: Cleveland, OH
How they give back:
For the past 16 years Mike has been a volunteer at Providence House. Mike has had such a positive impact on our children through his weekly volunteering! He says, "My favorite part of volunteering at Providence House is the smiles and hugs that give you a small sense that you may have brightened the life of a child if just for a moment." He loves to give back and it shows in his commitment to the organization for more than a decade. Providence House, a First and Ten community partner is proud to have volunteers like Mike that bring joy to the children."
Name: Dr. Ken Polke
Hometown: Collinwood, OH
How they give back:
Dr. Polke is a Cleveland Browns Alumni who has a very prestigious resume following his career on the football field. He has written a book and continues to share his story through speaking engagements around the country. Most recently he had the chance to speak to students and staff members as part of a panel through the Mayor's Summer Youth Employment Program. An opportunity for youth to learn tangible skills that can be effective in varying work environments. Dr. Polke passed on knowledge he's obtained over his lifetime and encouraged the students to keep working hard and striving toward their goals.
Name: Jess O'Reilly
Hometown: Shaker Heights, OH
How they give back:
Jess is a member of the Cleveland Browns corporate partnerships team and everyone she comes in contact with shares that she is a joy to be around. Jess was recently on the Ride the Rainbow event planning committee. Ride the Rainbow is a unique fundraising event put on to support University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital. The theme this year was "Growing Our Big Backyard" sharing that Rainbow's provides care that everyone can access. They hope that through this event awareness and advocacy is enhanced and more pediatricians will come to the city of Cleveland to provide the best care to the women and children across the area.
Interested in signing up your volunteer group for First and Ten? Group forms available!Click hereto 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 1.5 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
